Last week the head of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) criticised a claim made in a report by CBS News.
“They say GHF is bad because it has replaced 400 small UN-coordinated distribution sites with only 4 sites.
This is so deceptive. It is more disinformation: information shared to deceive, not to inform.
Yes, there were once 400 small distribution sites for humanitarian assistance in Gaza (funded mainly by America and Europe) but this was BEFORE October 7, 2023 and BEFORE the subsequent and devastating war which has followed. The Gaza Strip has been decimated by this war. The old infrastructure doesn’t exist anymore.
Meanwhile, those 400 distribution sites were hugely problematic to begin with. They were exhibit A of the problem of aid diversion and the militarization of aid by Hamas…”
The “400 aid distribution points” claim was also promoted by UNRWA spokesperson Juliette Touma in filmed CBS reporting.
A version of the same claim also appeared in a July 1st BBC News website report by Helen Sullivan:
“The GHF’s system replaced 400 aid distribution points that were operating during the last temporary Israel-Hamas ceasefire with just four distribution sites located in Israeli militarised zones and run by US private security contractors – three in the far south-west of Gaza and one in central Gaza.”
A May 31st BBC Verify report credited to Matt Murphy & Kevin Nguyen told BBC audiences that:
“When the UN had been delivering aid before Israel’s humanitarian blockade, there were 400 distribution points spread across Gaza. Under the present GHF distribution system there currently are four known sites.”
A report credited to Yolande Knell and Imogen Foulkes which was published on May 9th – i.e. weeks before the GHF began operations – included the following:
“Israel and the US argue that the new system would prevent Hamas from being able to steal food for its own benefit. By preventing its access to aid and involvement in security for convoys, they hope to reduce the group’s influence over the Gazan population.
However, there are major questions over the plan’s feasibility. The current UN system uses some 400 points of aid distribution, while the situation in Gaza is now at a crisis point, with warnings that mass starvation is imminent.”
BBC audiences could obviously be forgiven for failing to understand exactly when those “400 aid distribution points” were supposedly active. In February 2025 – during a massive surge in aid provision while a ceasefire was in effect – UN OCHA had stated that it had around half that number of operational aid distribution points:
“Since the beginning of February, at least four food distribution points have been re-established in North Gaza, including three in Jabalya and one in Beit Lahiya, with plans underway to set up additional points. In total, there are more than 200 points distributing food parcels across the Gaza Strip.”
On March 4th UN OCHA similarly reported that: “In total, over 200 food parcel distribution points are currently operational across Gaza”.
The BBC’s claim that the four GHF aid distribution points “replaced 400 aid distribution points” fails to inform audiences that the GHF programme is not the sole route via which civilians in the Gaza Strip have been receiving humanitarian aid. As reported by COGAT on June 22nd:
“Aid is entering the Gaza Strip through 2 main efforts: complementary aid through the UN and international organizations, including flour for bakeries, food for kitchens, medical supplies, baby food and formula, and more, without any quantitative limit. Aid also enters directly into distribution points and is distributed by international organizations to the populations.
In recent days, hundreds of trucks have entered Gaza, including significant quantities of food and flour for bakeries. Part of this aid has been collected by UN agencies. Israel continues to assess the situation in cooperation with the international community and take steps to address challenges in providing humanitarian response to the civilian population in all parts of the Gaza Strip (including the opening of Zikim crossing, facilitating movement in alternative routes, and more).”
On July 6th the Times of Israel reported that:
“United Nations World Food Programme Deputy executive director Carl Skau was in Israel last week to meet Israeli officials. He also went to Gaza City on Wednesday to meet locals and discuss the humanitarian situation there.
He told The Times of Israel that Israel allows the WFP to bring in 100 truckloads of food a day, accessing northern Gaza through the Netzarim Corridor and the Erez Crossing. However, Erez closed last week after the WFP sent the IDF footage of its trucks being commandeered by armed Gazans.
“We’re hopeful that that would open again because that’s the most secure. It’s the Netzarim Corridor that is very complicated,” said Skau.”
As was the case with the BBC’s long-used (and eventually corrected) “500 trucks a day” misinformation, the aim of this “400 aid distribution points” narrative is not to enhance audience understanding of the situation concerning humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip but rather to advance the framing of the story which the corporation has chosen to adopt and promote.
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BBC JOURNALISTS PROMOTE ANONYMOUS UNVERIFIED CLAIMS FROM HA’ARETZ
HOW BBC FRAMING OF THE GHF TOES THE UN LINE
