LEILA FADEL, HOST:
How does the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation explain the bloodshed and controversy around their operation? For that, we have the organization's spokesman, Chapin Fay, on the line from Tel Aviv in Israel. Good morning and welcome to the program.
CHAPIN FAY: Good morning. Thanks for having me.
FADEL: So in the three months your food aid operation has been up and running, hundreds of people have been killed, as we heard, trying to get to your sites in closed military areas declared by Israel as off limits to Palestinians. My colleagues have documented mothers, children, fathers who've been killed near the sites trying to get to the aid. Why is the foundation operating under conditions where the choice for Palestinians right now seems to be go hungry or risk dying trying to get to your site for food?
FAY: Well, so we have to stop pretending there's only one way to deliver food to the people who need it in Gaza. This is one of the most complex humanitarian crises of our lifetime, and it's happening in a war zone. We've actually had no casualties on our sites except for two terrorist attacks, which were tragic and unfortunate. And as of yesterday, we've delivered 142 million meals, and we put them directly into the hands of the people in Gaza who need it the most.
And when you compare that, you know, for example, to the United Nations, we were never meant to replace the United Nations. They can open as many sites in Gaza as they'd like. They are just having trouble distributing their aid because you can see on social media over the past couple of weeks that at best, it's thousands of hungry people swarming the aid and getting injured or armed men hijacking it, presumably Hamas.
FADEL: So just to clarify, the killings have been on the way to your sites. And that has been because Israeli military has opened fire on Palestinians trying to get to you. I know the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has asked the Israeli military to improve safe access routes to your sites. But the Red Cross is still reporting mass casualty incidents of people trying to get - to reach the aid. And this has been the situation for months. What pressure have you put on the Israeli military to make the path to your sites safer and more accessible so people are not shot trying to get food?
FAY: Sure. So we push them every single day to deconflict and to increase the humanitarian zones. We are responsible for the safety and security of the aid seekers in our sites. And again, we've had no casualties. It's important to remember that this is a war zone. And the other thing I would underline is that some of these casualty numbers are coming from places like the Gaza Ministry of Health, which is a Hamas agency. They don't distinguish between men and women. They don't distinguish between combatants. And the IDF is actually having difficulty confirming a lot of these casualty reports.
FADEL: But the Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders are also documenting these mass casualty incidents.
FAY: Well, so at Nasser Hospital, where Doctors Without Borders operates, we actually had a busload of local Palestinian workers murdered by Hamas. And they were brought to Nasser Hospital, and they were refused treatment, the remaining survivors. So again, every casualty is regrettable. We push every day for the government of Israel and the IDF to deconflict and to use less lethal methods. But our sites are safe and secure. And I think you can see all over social media that everywhere across Gaza, you know, the aid distribution is disorderly and dangerous. The United Nations is having a lot of difficulty and having casualties themselves. But on our sites, there are no casualties. And they're safe and secure, and we've been able to deliver 142 million meals directly to Gazans.
FADEL: Now, previous to the blockade, which preceded the opening of your sites, there was the U.N.-run distribution sites across Gaza, and we weren't seeing the mass casualty events. And there were also ID checks. I mean, I guess what I'm trying to understand is, how is the way you distribute a better alternative if the idea is to protect the aid from looting? There aren't ID checks. They're described as free-for-all, survival of the fittest. Again, why is the foundation operating under these conditions? Why not demand that basic humanitarian principles are upheld?
FAY: Well, so we adhere to all four humanitarian principles every day. We live them. We have humanitarians on site making sure that the aid seekers get what they need. And, you know, I think, you know, we also have two different ways. We have multiple different ways. We innovate every day to deliver the aid. We now have separate women's distributions, so they don't get left behind in the original distributions. We also have a pilot program we're very proud of where women can reserve ahead of time. And they do have IDs. And it's gotten a lot of great feedback. And we were only able to do that because of the trust...
FADEL: And that's already started?
FAY: It has, last week. And we were only able to do that because of the trust we have built from the aid seekers, they to us and us to them. It's an ongoing dialogue. And many of our methods actually come from them, ideas from them.
FADEL: Chapin Fay is the spokesman for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Thank you for being on the program.
FAY: Thank you.
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