US-brokered meeting aimed at urging UN, GHF collaboration said to end with no breakthrough

Senior UN aid officials met on Wednesday in New York with the chair of the controversial Israeli- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in the first such engagement since GHF began operating in Gaza in late May, the Axios news site reports.

The meeting was brokered by the US, which is encouraging the organizations to collaborate in order to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The UN has thus far refused to work with GHF, saying that the latter group was established to advance the Israeli government’s war aims, rather than to serve those in need. It also claims that GHF puts Gazans in danger by having them walk long distances while crossing IDF lines in order to pick up boxes of food.

“We already have a plan that’s built on long-established humanitarian principles: neutrality, impartiality, independence and humanity. That means we go where the needs are greatest. We answer to civilians in need and not the warring parties. Inside Gaza, we have the people and networks and the trust to deliver, and we just need to be able to go about that,” UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said earlier Thursday.

Particapating in Wednesday’s meeting were senior US official Morgan Ortagus, GHF chair Johnnie Moore and representatives of the World Food Program, UNICEF, the International Organization for Migration, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the International Red Cross.

The meeting did not lead to a breakthrough, but participants agreed to de-escalate public attacks in the media against each other, Axios reports.

GHF was still calling out the UN on X throughout Thursday, though.