Over 165 charities, NGOs urge end to GHF aid group in Gaza

Dozens of international charities and non-governmental organisations, including Oxfam, Save the Children and Amnesty, called on Tuesday for an Israeli and US-backed aid mechanism for Gaza to disband over repeated incidents of chaos and deadly violence against Palestinians heading toward its sites.

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More than 165 major international charities and non-governmental organisations, including Oxfam, Save the Children and Amnesty, on Tuesday called for an immediate end to the Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF).

"Palestinians in Gaza face an impossible choice: starve or risk being shot while trying desperately to reach food to feed their families," the group said in a joint news release.

The call by the charities and NGOs was the latest sign of trouble for the GHF, a secretive US and Israeli-backed initiative headed by an evangelical leader who is a close ally of Trump.

GHF started distributing aid on May 26, following a nearly three-month Israeli blockade that has pushed Gaza's population of more than 2 million people to the brink of famine.

In a statement on Tuesday, the organization said it has delivered more than 52 million meals over five weeks.

"Instead of bickering and throwing insults from the sidelines, we would welcome other humanitarian groups to join us and feed the people in Gaza," the statement said.