‘This Attack Did Not Happen in a Vacuum’: Hamas Murders GHF Aid Workers in Gaza, Reportedly Takes Hostages

Latest Developments

Late Night Shooting: At least eight people were murdered and several others injured after Hamas terrorists attacked a bus carrying two dozen Palestinian Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) workers to a distribution site in southern Gaza. “We condemn this heinous and deliberate attack in the strongest possible terms,” the GHF stated. “These were aid workers. Humanitarians. Fathers, brothers, sons, and friends, who were risking their lives every day to help others. This attack did not happen in a vacuum. For days, Hamas has openly threatened our team, our aid workers, and the civilians who receive aid from us. Those threats were met with silence.”
Suspected Hostage Taking: The GHF said that it also suspects Hamas abducted several workers as hostages during the shooting, adding that additional information would be released once available. “Our hearts are broken and our thoughts and prayers are with every victim, every family, and every person still unaccounted for,” the GHF stated.
Operations Continued Thursday: Despite the attack, the GHF opened three “Safe Distribution Sites” on June 12, handing out 2.6 million meals to Gazan civilians on Thursday alone, with operations proceeding “without incident.” GHF Executive Chairman Rev. Johnnie Moore stated that though the GHF initially “considered closing [its] sites today given the heightened security risks and safety concerns,” it instead “decided that the best response to Hamas’ cowardly murderers was to keep delivering food for the people of Gaza who are counting on us.” Moore stated that the GHF has distributed about 19 million meals in Gaza since launching its operations.

FDD Expert Response

“The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is to be applauded for its courage in resuming aid distribution the day after this brutal and cowardly attack on its workers. Moreover, in a week when the amount of media coverage given to pro-Hamas activist Greta Thunberg’s failed ‘selfie yacht’ has dwarfed that received by the GHF, we should also be questioning whether the priority of the GHF’s enemies is to feed the people of Gaza or to keep up the stream of demonizing propaganda directed at Israel.” — Mark Dubowitz, CEO

“The Arrow Unit of Hamas has confirmed what many have long suspected: it is a force used to carry out extrajudicial killings and brutal crackdowns against Palestinians perceived as internal threats. The murder of GHF aid workers was a deliberate act to dismantle a growing alternative to Hamas’s control over humanitarian aid in Gaza. As the GHF’s aid mechanism continues to erode Hamas’s control and restrict its access to resources, the Islamist group is likely to respond with escalating violence.” — Joe Truzman, Senior Research Analyst and Editor at FDD’s Long War Journal