State Department Slams Senate Democrats Over Calls To Defund Gaza Humanitarian Foundation

A senior State Department official is firing back at a group of Senate Democrats who sent a letter earlier this week urging the Trump administration to halt its support for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).

The group, led by Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen (MD), accuses GHF of being a “scheme” that endangers the lives of civilians and requested that support instead be given to United Nations-led aid efforts.

“We urge you to immediately cease all U.S. funding for GHF and resume support for the existing UN-led aid coordination mechanisms with enhanced oversight to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches civilians in need,” the senators wrote.

But the official told The Daily Wire that senators are failing to look at the successful track record of the foundation — which is on track to deliver its 100 millionth meal this week— and instead “offering nothing of value.”

“While these members waste time complaining in a letter offering nothing of value, President Trump and Secretary Rubio are actually putting in the work to help find innovative solutions to help get aid into Gaza,” the official said. “To date, GHF is the only pipeline that denies Hamas resources and control.”

The State Department pledged $30 million to fund Gaza Humanitarian Foundation operations last month.

The foundation is responsible for carrying out President Donald Trump’s aid initiative, which aims to deliver humanitarian aid directly to Gazan civilians while preventing Hamas from intercepting supplies — a challenge that has persisted since the war began.

“The United States supports the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation because it offers a direct delivery model in a setting where alternatives frequently have abetted diversion to terrorist networks,” the official continued. “Hamas has systematically looted humanitarian aid, turning relief into a tool of control. Aid is part of their strategy to stay in power, leaving civilians to navigate chaos and lawlessness.”

As of July 30, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has delivered over 98.5 million meals directly to civilians since starting operations on May 26.

“No other aid channel has come close,” the official said. “Gaza is a collapsed operating environment.”

According to United Nations data, between May and July of this year, 1,753 trucks meant to distribute aid were “intercepted either peacefully by hungry civilians or forcefully by armed actors,” leaving a limited number of trucks to successfully arrive at UN warehouses.

A video obtained by The Daily Wire shows a chaotic scene in southern Gaza last Thursday, as more than a dozen UN aid trucks enter a dense crowd along the Morag route. As the convoy attempts to pass through, a mob swarms the vehicles, climbing aboard and looting the supplies.

EXCLUSIVE: A new video obtained by The Daily Wire shows a chaotic scene in southern Gaza last Thursday, where Gazans swarm and loot a U.N. aid convoy.

The IDF says it received reports of casualties in the same area and on the same day involving aid trucks. pic.twitter.com/TP0hhl0bms

— Kassy Akiva (@KassyAkiva) July 30, 2025

Due to the constant looting of UN trucks, GHF has repeatedly offered to help the UN distribute aid, but the offer has gone unanswered. Instead, the UN has continued to vilify the group.

The GHF has pushed back on accusations that its distribution sites are dangerous, noting that aid supplies are emptied daily by Gazan civilians, many of whom express thanks for the free assistance.

“The media says our sites are a death trap, but our workers are interacting with these people every day,” Johnnie Moore, the GHF executive chairman, said. “We see at our distribution sites something people haven’t seen in a long time in the Gaza Strip: we see smiles every single day on the faces of women, on the faces of children.”

According to GHF, security issues at its sites have been limited and are typically instigated by individuals the GHF believes are affiliated with Hamas. Incidents include a grenade attack by terrorists that injured two American contractors, and a stampede earlier this month triggered by armed men inciting chaos in the crowd that resulted in the deaths of 20 Gazan civilians.

The Democrats’ letter also accuses GHF security contractors of “having no combat experience or proper training on offensive weapons.”

Moore pushed back hard on the accusation, claiming that GHF’s security contractors are among some of the most decorated and experienced special forces veterans.

“For over a dozen senators to make an accusation like that with information that is so readily available makes me wonder if it was a 17-year-old intern who wrote the letter,” Moore said.

He noted that the contractors showed incredible restraint, experience, and professionalism when the grenades were thrown at them as the perpetrators ran into the crowd to hide and blend in.

“Hamas’s intention was to get the contractors to fire into the crowd of civilians during the incident,” Moore said. “But the level of experience of the people on the ground helped them in that 0.0001 seconds to make the correct decision to lose the assailants in order to not injure any civilians.”