It is impossible to implement the aid plan and simultaneously follow principles of "humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence," thunders Jake Wood in a statement during the night to Monday.
In recent weeks, war veteran and American Wood, who previously co-founded the disaster relief organization Team Rubicon, has made headlines as the head of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
Aid to Forced Relocation?
GHF is an American-Israeli initiative aimed at distributing emergency aid to the war-torn Gaza Strip's suffering and starving civilian population. According to the plan, emergency aid would be handed out through four distribution sites, three in southern Gaza and one in the central parts of the area. Security would be handled by a private American security company.
However, there have also been reports that Israeli soldiers would patrol nearby. The initiative has been questioned as possible aid for Israel's attempts to forcibly relocate tens of thousands of Gazans, writes, among others, The Washington Post.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently said that his country has the intention to take over the entire Gaza Strip.
Outgoing Jake Wood says he is proud of the work he has done so far - but emphasizes that he cannot abandon humanitarian principles. He urges Israel to expand emergency aid "through all mechanisms" and explore "innovative new methods" to deliver aid.
Repeated Alarms
GHF's plan does not include traditional aid organizations, which has been sharply criticized. The UN's aid chief Tom Fletcher has called the setup "a deliberate distraction."
Whether the plan that GHF was set to carry out will happen at all is unclear.
Israel has carried out an 11-week-long total blockade against Gaza and its population of around two million people during the spring. Israel claims it has done so to force terrorist-stamped Hamas to concessions. But UN agencies and other organizations have repeatedly sounded the alarm about starvation threats and severe hunger.
Only last week, a smaller number of trucks with emergency aid began rolling into the area, after a "minimum aid" decision was made following pressure from allies, Benjamin Netanyahu. The limited measure has been met with stone-hard criticism from the outside world - the UN's food program (WFP) called it "a drop in the ocean."
