The Gaza ceasefire plan names the United Nations, the Red Crescent and other international institutions as the entities responsible to deliver aid to some 2 million Palestinians. Immediately following the ceasefire, Israel allowed more aid to enter Gaza, where a global hunger monitor warned in August that famine had taken hold. But that aid has since been restricted in the wake of ongoing clashes.
Graham told RNS that Samaritan’s Purse would prefer not to work with the UN to deliver aid.
“If we have to, we can work with anybody,” he said. “But they have such a bureaucratic organization, it just really slows you down. We don’t like to be tethered to incompetence.”
On Saturday, Graham prayed with the aviation team before it took off. The new Boeing 767 airlift, which was carrying 290,000 packets of Ready-to-use Supplementary Food, used to treat acute malnutrition, as well as blankets and solar lights, was due to land at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport later Saturday.
It was not clear how the supplies would be delivered to Gaza.
In the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people, Samaritan’s Purse began assisting Israel’s recovery, as well. It donated 42 ambulances and is building nine community centers and bomb shelters in the north of the country.
Samaritan’s Purse has also deepened its relationships with the Israeli government and is now working with the U.S. State Department to assist Gaza in a larger way. The Boone, North Carolina-based operation, one of the U.S.’s largest humanitarian relief organizations, also benefits from its close ties to U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, a former Southern Baptist pastor. Graham said Huckabee’s wife, Janet, is a longtime volunteer with Samaritan’s Purse.
Graham confirmed that all the aid donated to Gaza was privately funded. But he said Samaritan’s Purse would be open to accepting government funds. It is also considering building an emergency field hospital in Gaza, a service in which it has developed unique expertise. It has erected temporary hospitals in Ukraine, Sudan and Myanmar, among other hotspots in the past.
This article originally appeared here.
