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The head of a controversial U.S.- and Israel-backed Gaza aid group has resigned, citing violations of humanitarian principles and urging Israel to allow more aid into besieged Gaza, according to a statement on Monday.
Jake Wood, a U.S. military veteran and former executive director of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), stepped down weeks after the program's May launch, stating he could not reconcile its operations with "the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence."
“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,” he was quoted by CNN as saying.
The GHF—criticized by U.N. agencies for potentially endangering civilians—expressed disappointment over Wood's resignation, accusing opponents of prioritizing "tearing this apart over getting aid in."
In its reaction to Wood's resignation, GHF also said it will begin deliveries of aid in Gaza on Monday, with plans to scale up rapidly to bring food for "the full population in the weeks ahead."
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