The US is giving $30 million to a controversial humanitarian group delivering aid in war-torn Gaza despite concern among some US officials about the month-old operation and the killing of Palestinians near food distribution sites, according to four sources and a document seen by Reuters.
Washington has long backed the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation diplomatically, but this is the first known US government financial contribution to the organization, which uses private US military and logistics firms to transport aid into the Palestinian enclave for distribution at so-called secure sites.
A document reviewed by Reuters showed that the $30 million US Agency for International Development grant to GHF was authorized on Friday under a "priority directive" from the White House and State Department. The document showed an initial $7 million disbursement had been made.
The US could approve additional monthly grants of $30 million for the GHF, said two of the sources, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity.
The White House referred questions about the matter to the State Department. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation declined to comment on the US funding or the concerns of some US officials about the operation.
Israel's embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the $30 million US grant.
In approving the US funding for the GHF, the sources said the State Department exempted the foundation, which has not publicly disclosed its finances, from an audit usually required for groups receiving USAID grants for the first time.
Such an audit "would normally take many, many weeks if not months," said one source, who is a former senior US official.
The GHF also was exempted from additional vetting required for groups supplying aid to Gaza - ruled by Iran-backed Hamas militants - to ensure that there are no links to extremism, the sources said.
The GHF is working in Gaza with a for-profit logistics firm, Safe Reach Solutions, headed by a former CIA officer, and its security contractor, UG Solutions, which employs armed US military veterans.
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