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A group of senior Democratic senators in the US has issued a scathing letter calling on the Trump administration to immediately halt funding to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a controversial private organisation accused of complicity in the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians near its aid distribution sites.

Senators Elizabeth Warren, Chris Van Hollen and Peter Welch, joined by 19 others, urged the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget Russ Vought to cut financial support to GHF and redirect funds to established humanitarian mechanisms. “We urge you to immediately cease all US funding for GHF and resume support for the existing UN-led aid coordination mechanisms,” the senators wrote.

The letter, shared with The Guardian and published on Van Hollen’s website, sharply criticises the administration’s handling of the GHF programme, alleging that funding was approved despite serious internal warnings from USAID officials. The agency flagged “operational and reputational risks and lack of oversight,” noting that the group’s risk management plan failed to provide assurances that aid would reach civilians in need.

GHF began distributing aid in Gaza in late May after the Israeli government approved limited entry of food and supplies through only four militarised sites in the south. The system replaced a UN-led aid network that previously operated over 400 distribution points across the Strip. The shift is believed to have been designed to displace Palestinians and fragment the aid ecosystem in favour of Israeli-coordinated alternatives with the final aim of ethnically cleansing Gaza.

Since GHF began operations, thousands of Palestinians have been killed while attempting to access food near its sites, according to UN data. Witnesses report civilians being fired on by Israeli tanks, drones and soldiers. “Any operation that channels desperate civilians into militarised zones is inherently unsafe. It is killing people,” warned UN Secretary-General António Guterres in late June.

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The senators’ letter raises serious concerns that GHF is not a neutral humanitarian actor. The organisation is reported to work in close coordination with the Israeli military and uses American private military contractors, including Safe Reach Solutions and UG Solutions, to secure its aid convoys. These contractors have been documented using live ammunition and stun grenades during aid distributions.

GHF’s first executive director, Jake Wood, resigned prior to its operational launch, stating the plan could not be implemented without abandoning fundamental humanitarian principles. The senators noted that GHF’s system, by forcing Palestinians to travel long distances to receive food, risks facilitating forced displacement.

Despite the mounting evidence of war crimes, the State Department proceeded with a $30 million grant to GHF in June. This was done under a “priority directive” from the White House, bypassing standard audits, Congressional consultation and legally mandated vetting procedures meant to prevent aid from reaching designated terrorist organisations. The grant was also exempted from third-party monitoring.

Further controversy surrounds GHF’s reported involvement in a proposal dubbed the “Gaza Riviera,” a 38-page development plan for large-scale camps, which critics argue would legitimise Israel’s ethnic cleansing campaign by resettling Palestinians outside of Gaza. 

The senators also demanded full transparency from the administration of President Donald Trump, calling for the release of GHF’s funding documents, award contracts, and any export licences for military services. They questioned whether US nationals employed by GHF-linked contractors had engaged in hostilities in Gaza, and if the administration had licensed the export of firearms to these firms.

READ: Germany asks Israel to abandon plans to occupy Gaza City