The U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) on Saturday denounced allegations by Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières, MSF) that aid distributions run by the foundation were sites of killings and stampedes, calling the claims "false and disgraceful" as GHF marked the delivery of its 155 millionth meal to Gazans.
MSF ran a series of Facebook advertisements in August that included strong language from the agency's general director describing accounts from patients of people shot while reaching for food, children crushed in stampedes and crowds gunned down at distribution points. GHF spokesman Chapin Fay said the advertisements were an amplification of "a disinformation campaign orchestrated by the Hamas-linked Gaza Health Ministry" and maintained that "no civilians have ever been shot at any of our distribution sites." Fay further accused the Gaza Health Ministry and staff at Nasser Hospital of issuing misleading reports linking deaths and injuries to GHF activities.
MSF told reporters it had documented the "impacts of violence and chaos at GHF sites in Gaza" based on firsthand accounts from its personnel and patients at two clinical sites, together with medical data collected by its teams. A spokesperson for MSF said the organization has recorded testimony from patients who reported injuries around GHF sites. The charity declined to disclose how much it spent on the advertisements.
The United Nations has reported substantial mortality associated with aid operations in Gaza since late May. An update from the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs covering May 27 to Aug. 18 recorded 1,889 deaths near aid sites, including 1,025 near militarized distribution sites and 864 along convoy supply routes. Between July 21 and Aug. 18, U.N. figures cited 576 deaths surrounding humanitarian convoys and 259 deaths around GHF sites. Separate U.N. reporting as of July 21 noted 1,054 deaths at food distribution sites, attributing 766 near GHF sites and 288 near U.N. and other convoy operations. The U.N. Human Rights Office did not respond to a request to confirm those figures by press time.
Tensions between GHF and other aid organizations have included allegations surrounding Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis. GHF said that after a June attack that killed eight, its staff were taken to Nasser Hospital and were not treated. A written statement from a GHF employee supplied to reporters described wounded workers being left in a courtyard and assaulted; GHF said three staff later died because they did not receive treatment. MSF said it had "seen no credible evidence that healthcare was refused by Ministry of Health or other medical staff" and that MSF personnel have not been present in Nasser Hospital's emergency department since 2024.
Claims that armed groups have operated from health facilities have been repeatedly raised by analysts and governments. The Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) published images of summonses it said were issued by Hamas ordering people to report to Nasser Hospital for questioning. MSF did not comment on those specific claims when asked whether its staff were aware of alleged militant activity at the hospital.
Despite the public disagreement, GHF said it had assisted MSF earlier in August by safeguarding pallets of MSF supplies from the elements after MSF requested help. GHF also announced a new medical initiative on X to provide care in partnership with Samaritan's Purse, saying the program would treat wounds, infections and provide services to pregnant women.
Humanitarian organizations working in Gaza have repeatedly reported that aid deliveries and distribution sites are operating in an environment of violence and logistical strain. MSF said its August advertisements and public statements reflect testimony from patients and field personnel documenting those conditions. GHF officials counter that their operations have delivered millions of meals without the types of systematic abuses described by MSF and accused rival actors of politicizing the humanitarian response.
The conflicting accounts underscore the difficulties of verifying incidents in a contested and densely populated conflict zone and the broader debate over how aid is delivered and protected. Both GHF and MSF said they sought to assist civilians in Gaza; their competing narratives add to scrutiny of how humanitarian activities are conducted amid ongoing hostilities.
