We remain committed to ensuring that shocking incidents in which people were killed while attempting to distribute or access relief supplies are fully investigated as quickly as possible, Foreign Ministry says in response to parliamentary inquiry
Germany on Monday criticized the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation's (GHF) controversial distribution of relief supplies in the Gaza Strip as insufficient, according to press reports.
The GHF is an American organization backed by Israel. Israel cut off supplies to Gaza in March, and the group started operating in Gaza in late May, bypassing the UN and other established NGOs, but has been criticized by Palestinians and international groups for the high numbers of casualties linked to its operations.
"The German government believes it is now obvious that it (the aid) is not reaching the civilian population sufficiently and (GHF's new relief distribution mechanism) is not operating according to humanitarian principles," the Foreign Ministry said in a letter in response to parliamentary questions from the opposition Green Party faction.
Germany is committed to ensuring that shocking incidents in which people were killed while attempting to distribute or access relief supplies are fully investigated as quickly as possible, it added, according to the German Press Agency (dpa).
The government's letter also noted that neither state funding from Germany is flowing to the GHF, nor are any decisions pending with regard to funding the contentious aid group.
The letter described the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip as "unbearable" and stated that the suffering of the people must be alleviated and the humanitarian situation improved in a manner that is fully compatible with humanitarian principles and international humanitarian law.
On July 4, the EU criticized the situation surrounding food distribution centers operated by the GHF, calling it "untenable" and "not tolerable" and arguing that the bloc is not involved in the initiative.
About "the humanitarian foundation (GHF) that you mentioned, there's the distribution centers in Gaza, and what's happening around those distribution centers, the situation is untenable. It should not be tolerated, and the violence should cease immediately," EU Commission spokesperson Anouar El Anouni told reporters in Brussels.
Reiterating the EU's longstanding position, El Anouni stressed that humanitarian aid must never be "politicized or militarized," and should be delivered in line with core humanitarian principles under the coordination of the UN.
"As the European Union, we do not finance this initiative. We are not financing this initiative, and we're also not cooperating with it," he added.
Israel has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza since October 2023. The military onslaught has destroyed the enclave, and led to food shortages and the spread of diseases.
Several Palestinians have been killed in recent days while attempting to get much-needed humanitarian aid at sites associated with the GHF, an American organization backed by Israel.
