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Jake Wood, the CEO of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, has announced his resignation, saying current conditions make it impossible to deliver aid to Gaza without violating basic humanitarian principles—something he refuses to do.

In his resignation statement, Wood said that the current circumstances make it impossible to deliver humanitarian aid without compromising “the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence, which I will not abandon.” 

Wood also called on Israel to “significantly expand the provision of aid into Gaza through all mechanisms” while also urging “all stakeholders to continue to explore innovative new methods for the delivery of aid, without delay, diversion, or discrimination.”

READ: Israeli army controls 77% of Gaza: Media office

He stressed that the only path to a lasting solution lies in the release of all hostages held by Hamas, a ceasefire, and a clear roadmap toward peace, security, and dignity for everyone in the region.

Not much is known about the “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation,” which is supported by Washington and Tel Aviv and whose headquarters have been registered since February in Geneva, but the United States supported this foundation without revealing whether it contributes to it directly.

Jake Wood, the founder and outgoing CEO, is a former US Marine sniper who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has expressed support for Israel on social media platforms in the past.

Israel continues its policy of systematic starvation against around 2.4 million Palestinians in Gaza by closing border crossings to aid convoys, which have been stuck at the borders since 2 March. This has pushed the territory into a state of famine and has led to the deaths of many.

In recent days, the Israeli military has intensified its operations in both the northern and southern parts of the Gaza Strip, announcing a new ground offensive.

READ: UN food agency calls for ‘sustained, daily’ flow of aid to stave off starvation in Gaza

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.