Former Marine Tapped to Lead Distribution of Aid in Gaza Resigns, Citing Lack of ‘Humanitarian Principles’

A former Marine who helped found and served as the CEO of the U.S.- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) resigned one day before he was set to oversee the first aid distribution in the region following a nearly three-month blockade.

Jake Wood, who was deployed as a sniper to Iraq and Afghanistan, cited a lack of “humanitarian principles” as the reason for his abrupt departure from the only aid group Israel has allowed to enter Gaza since March.

“Like many others around the world, I was horrified and heartbroken at the hunger crisis in Gaza and, as a humanitarian leader, I was compelled to do whatever I could to help alleviate the suffering,” Wood wrote in a statement released Sunday evening, according to Drop Site News.

Since Israel unilaterally broke the Israel-Hamas ceasefire on March 2, no aid, including food, water, or medicine, has entered the Gaza Strip. The Israeli government’s blockade has left 500,000 Palestinians at risk of starvation.

In the nearly three months since, at least 60 Palestinian children have died from malnutrition, according to the UN World Health Organization (WHO), and nearly 71,000 children under 5 are at risk of becoming acutely malnourished if the blockade continued.

“I am proud of the work I oversaw, including developing a pragmatic plan that could feed hungry people, address security concerns about diversion, and complement the work of longstanding NGOs in Gaza,” Wood continued. “However, it is clear that it is not possible to implement this plan while also strictly adhering to the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence, which I will not abandon.”

The U.S. veteran called on Israel to stop withholding aid to the war-torn enclave where nearly 2.5 million Palestinians live.

“I urge Israel to significantly expand the provision of aid into Gaza through all mechanisms, and I urge all stakeholders to continue to explore innovative new methods for the delivery of aid, without delay, diversion, or discrimination,” Wood added.

Before Wood’s resignation, GHF faced backlash from leading humanitarians, including the United Nations’ Aid Chief Tom Fletcher. He called the foundation’s distribution plan a “fig leaf for further violence and displacement” of Palestinians.

“It is cynical sideshow. A deliberate distraction,” Fletcher told the U.N. Security Council last week, according to Reuters. “We can save hundreds of thousands of survivors. We have rigorous mechanisms to ensure our aid gets to civilians and not to Hamas, but Israel denies us access, placing the objective of depopulating Gaza before the lives of civilians.”