Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI
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Rome (Agenzia Fides) – The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an organization responsible for distributing food to the population of Gaza, has been led since June 3 by evangelical preacher Johnnie Moore Jr., considered by Newsmax Magazine as “one of the 25 most influential evangelical leaders in the United States.”Moore replaces Jake Wood, a former Marine who resigned as executive director of the GHF, claiming that he “could not carry out the aid project in strict compliance with the humanitarian principles of solidarity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence, which I am not prepared to renounce.” This was not the only defection affecting the foundation, created in February 2025 in the US state of Delaware. Its headquarters in Geneva, which existed only formally, was dissolved at the end of June by the Swiss authorities. The Boston Consulting Group also publicly distanced itself from the project, noting in a statement that, in October 2024, some of its employees had volunteered to organize a team to create a humanitarian aid structure for Gaza, “without disclosing the full nature of the work and subsequently performing unauthorized tasks.” These individuals subsequently left the company.The arrival of Johnnie Moore Jr. accentuates the involvement of American evangelical communities close to Israel in the management of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). Moore, President of the Congress of Christian Leaders, serves on the Board of Directors of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ), which presents itself as “the leading nonprofit organization building bridges between Christians and Jews, blessing Israel and the Jewish people worldwide with humanitarian care and lifesaving aid.” Among its activities, the IFCJ assists Israeli soldiers with vouchers for food, clothing, furniture, and other essential items, as well as programs to support former soldiers, vulnerable soldiers, and “lone soldiers” (people who immigrate to Israel to enlist in the military and have no family in the country).Above all, the IFCJ promotes Jewish immigration to Israel as a “fulfillment of biblical prophecy.” According to its website, they state, “We have contributed to the fulfillment of prophecy by helping more than 760,000 Jews make aliyah, immigrate to Israel, since 1983.” Moore is also a member of the Anti-Defamation League’s Task Force for Minorities in the Middle East, the organization founded in 1913 to combat anti-Semitism in the United States.Presenting himself as a defender of religious freedom, Moore spoke out during the rise of the Islamic State (ISIS) regarding the plight of Christian and Yazidi minorities persecuted by jihadists. The current leader of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has been very active in the Middle East for years, where he has held meetings with political and religious leaders, including the crown princes of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Moore claims to have been actively involved in the signing of the “Abraham Accords,” the strategic pacts between Israel and some Arab states promoted under the aegis of the first Trump administration (2017-2021). His relationship with the current US president dates back to the 2016 election campaign, when Moore served as co-chair of Donald Trump’s evangelical advisory board. The following year, Moore and other evangelical leaders pressured Trump to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Trump subsequently appointed Moore to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.The opaque nature of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s (GHF) funds has sparked controversy even within Israel. Opposition leader Yair Lapid has called the foundation a “shell company” covertly funded by the Israeli government itself. Lapid has used the same definition for another US organization working in Gaza with the GHF: Safe Reach Solutions (SRS). This company, along with UG Solutions (run by a former US Green Beret), has been commissioned by the GHF to provide armed protection for food distribution centers in Gaza. In practice, these are armed contractors who, according to the Israeli press, have been operating in Gaza since January 2025 without the supervision of the Shin Bet, the Israeli security service that also operates in the Palestinian territories. SRS is headed by Phil Reilly, a former CIA officer. Safe Reach Solutions (SRS) was incorporated in the state of Wyoming on November 20, 2024, and is believed to be linked to the American strategic consulting firm Orbis Operations. In the fall of 2024, the Israeli government commissioned Orbis to design a plan to distribute humanitarian aid in Gaza without going through UN agencies. The plan presented by Orbis envisioned the creation of a food distribution center managed by a private humanitarian organization, entrusting its security to private contractors in coordination with the Israeli army. This is the plan ultimately adopted by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) and the two contracting companies, SRS and UG Solutions.According to UN estimates, since the start of GHF operations in Gaza, more than 580 civilians have been killed and more than 4,000 injured in the foundation’s aid distribution centers. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides, 7/7/2025)
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