An American Evangelical leader who heads an organization that provides aid to people in war-torn Gaza condemned the United Nations for attempting to undermine its efforts by spreading talking points from Hamas, which he says is trying to prevent civilians from receiving free resources.
During a recent Christian Post interview with journalist Billy Hallowell, Rev. Johnnie Moore, executive chairman of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and president of the Congress of Christian Leaders, said Gazans have expressed gratitude for the aid his U.S.-backed organization has provided in the last couple of months despite the negative press.
"Our job is just to feed Gaza," Moore said of GHF, which he became executive chairman of early last month.
"But we're also, in feeding Gazans, trying to address a systemic issue, which is almost all of the humanitarian aid that has been going into Gaza for as long as anybody can remember has been under the total control of Hamas."
The Israeli military is conducting military operations in Gaza following the Hamas-led terror attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that resulted in the deaths of at least 1,200 people and the abduction of over 240 others. Hamas, recognized by the U.S. government as a terror organization, has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007.
Israel's stated goal in the offensive is to eradicate Hamas from control in Gaza and secure the release of the hostages.
Throughout Israel's military operations, there have been multiple reports of Hamas stealing humanitarian aid intended for civilians in Gaza. Hamas will hoard the aid to feed its militants, use it to recruit fighters, or sell it to civilians for more than what it's worth, according to reports.
"This is just unacceptable," Moore told Hallowell. "There has to be a better way of doing this."
With support from the United States and Israel, the GHF provides aid through distribution sites. At the time of the interview, Moore said that the effort "is pushing nearly 30 million meals."
Speculating on why the United Nations hasn't found a better method for delivering aid to Gaza, Moore suggested that the intergovernmental organization decided years ago that Hamas stealing the aid was just "the cost of doing business." Moore, an author and international religious freedom advocate, asserted that this is a "false choice," arguing that there is a way to deliver aid to Gazans without supporting Hamas.
"You wouldn't know it from reading a lot of the press, but it's actually working really, really well," Moore said about the GHF distribution sites.
Moore, who is president of the public relations firm JDA Worldwide, highlighted the U.N.'s lack of support for GHF. The Evangelical leader criticized the U.N. for boycotting the charity organization's efforts when it has never boycotted Hamas.
"It's not that they're not supporting us," the Christian leader explained. "It's that they're actively opposing us. They're rallying people against us. They're parroting Hamas talking points."
Late last month, the GHF announced that Hamas had placed bounties on American security personnel and that 12 of its local staff had been murdered, while others had been tortured.
Moore said he had asked the U.N. to issue a statement condemning the targeting of the staff members. Moore said that he told the U.N. that he wasn't asking them to support how GHF provides aid if they didn't agree with it, only to condemn Hamas' threats and actions.
"And they wouldn't even do that," the chairman stated.
GHF is not boycotting the U.N., Moore said, adding that the organization would like to collaborate and learn from the U.N.
"We want to do good together," he said. "Our hand is out; we extend it."
The U.N. has refused to work with the GHF on the grounds that the organization violates humanitarian principles of "impartiality," according to Moore, which he referred to as "hogwash."
Moore's selection as GHF's executive chairman followed GHF's founding CEO Jake Wood's resignation. Wood was critical of the Israeli-led distribution plan on the grounds that it violates "humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence, which I will not abandon," reports All Israel News.
"Impartiality doesn't mean neutrality," Moore told Hallowell. "There is right, and there is wrong here. Our mission is not a military mission, and it has nothing to do with the conflict between these parties. Our mission is to feed people; that's our mission."
The U.N. did not immediately respond to The Christian Post's request for comment.
Last week, U.N. Human Rights Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani told reporters in Geneva that the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights has recorded "615 killings in the vicinity of the GHF sites" since May 26 and through July 7. Another 183 deaths occurred "presumably on the routes of aid convoys" carried out by the U.N. and other aid organizations, according to Shamdasani.
"This is nearly 800 people who have been killed while trying to access aid. Most of the injuries are gunshot injuries," the U.N. spokesperson said.
The OHCHR said that its information comes from Gaza hospitals, cemeteries, families, the Hamas-run health authorities, NGOs and its partners on the ground.
The GHF, which denied the allegations, told Reuters earlier this month that the figures from the U.N. were "false and misleading."
"The fact is the most deadly attacks on aid sites have been linked to U.N. convoys," a GHF spokesperson said. "Ultimately, the solution is more aid. If the U.N. and other humanitarian groups would collaborate with us, we could end or significantly reduce these violent incidents."
The Israeli army told Reuters that it is installing fences and opening additional routes.
Earlier this month, the Israel Defense Forces announced a review of an incident involving an Israeli missile strike following reports that it missed its intended target.
The strike hit a water distribution point in Nuseirat refugee camp, killing six children and injuring 17 others, according to Ahmed Abu Saifan, an emergency physician at Al-Awda Hospital. In a statement, the IDF said that it "regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians" while targeting the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group.
