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The controversial, US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) announces it is concluding its humanitarian work in the Palestinian territory, after almost six months.

The organisation had previously halted its three food distribution sites in Gaza following the halt in hostilities between Palestinian factions and Israel took effect in recent weeks.

The GHF aimed to bypass the UN as the main supplier of aid to Gaza's population.

UN and other aid agencies refused to co-operate with its system, claiming it was questionable and hazardous.

Many residents were fatally wounded while attempting to obtain sustenance amid disorderly situations near GHF's sites, mostly by Israeli fire, as reported by United Nations.

Israeli authorities stated its soldiers fired alerting fire.

Operation Conclusion

The GHF said on the beginning of the week that it was winding down operations now because of the "successful completion of its crisis response", with a total of three million packages containing the corresponding to over 187 million food portions distributed to Gazans.

The foundation's chief officer, Jon Acree, additionally stated the United States-operated coordination body - which has been created to help implement the American administration's Gaza initiative - would be "taking over and developing the system the foundation tested".

"The organization's system, in which Hamas could no longer loot and profit from stealing aid, had major impact in bringing Palestinian factions to negotiations and achieving a ceasefire."

Feedback and Statements

Hamas - which denies stealing aid - approved the termination of the GHF, according to reports.

An official from said the foundation should be made responsible for the damage it inflicted to local residents.

"We call upon all international human rights organisations to guarantee that responsibility is assigned after resulting in fatalities and harm of thousands of Gazans and covering up the food deprivation strategy implemented by the Israeli government."

Operational Background

The foundation started work in Gaza on May 26th, a seven days following Israeli authorities had somewhat relaxed a comprehensive closure on aid and commercial deliveries to Gaza that lasted 11 weeks and caused severe shortages of necessary provisions.

Three months later, a famine was declared in the Palestinian urban center.

The foundation's nourishment distribution centers in various parts of the Palestinian territory were administered by US private security contractors and situated within Israeli military zones.

Aid Organization Objections

United Nations agencies and their collaborators said the system violated the basic relief guidelines of objectivity, fairness and autonomy, and that guiding distressed residents into militarised zones was fundamentally dangerous.

The UN's human rights office said it recorded the fatalities of no fewer than 859 Gazans seeking food in the area surrounding organization centers between spring and summer months.

Another 514 people were killed near the routes of UN and other aid convoys, it added.

Most of them were killed by the Israeli forces, according to the office.

Conflicting Accounts

The Israeli military claimed its forces had discharged cautionary rounds at people who approached them in a "menacing" manner.

The GHF said there were no firearm incidents at the distribution centers and accused the UN of using "untrue and confusing" statistics from Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry.

Future Implications

The GHF's future had been unclear since militant groups and the Israeli government approved a halt in hostilities arrangement to carry out the initial stage of the American administration's peace initiative.

It said relief provision would take place "free from intervention from the involved factions through the UN organizations and their partners, and the Red Crescent, in combination with other international institutions not linked whatsoever" with Hamas and Israel.

International organization official Stephane Dujarric said on Monday that the organization's termination would have "no impact" on its activities "since we never collaborated with them".

The spokesperson additionally stated that while more aid was getting into Gaza since the halt in hostilities began on October 10th, it was "inadequate to address all necessities" of the over two million inhabitants.