US to give $30 million to Gaza Humanitarian Foundation despite violence concerns
The US State Department has approved $30 million in funding for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the first known financial contribution by the US government to the controversial group delivering aid in war-torn Gaza. The decision comes amid concerns over violence near aid distribution sites and the foundation's links to for-profit US firms.
The US State Department has approved $30 million in funding for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the State Department said on Thursday, calling on other countries to also support the controversial group delivering aid in war-torn Gaza.
"This support is simply the latest iteration of President Trump's and Secretary Rubio's pursuit of peace in the region," State Department deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott told reporters at a regular news briefing.
Reuters was first to report the move earlier this week.
Washington has long backed the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) diplomatically, but this is the first known US government financial contribution to the organization, which uses private for-profit US military and logistics firms to transport aid into the Palestinian enclave for distribution at so-called secure sites.
Earlier this month, GHF halted aid deliveries for a day as it pressed Israel to boost civilian safety near its distribution sites after dozens of Palestinians seeking aid were killed. It says there have been no incidents at its sites.
(FRANCE 24 with Reuters)
Read more on FRANCE 24 EnglishRead also:Israeli attacks at Gaza aid distribution point, school and camp kill at least 56UN says Israel's 'weaponisation of food' in Gaza constitutes a war crime
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Newsweek
21 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Agriculture Secretary Brooke L. Rollins: Farmers Win With the One Big Beautiful Bill
Our nation's farmers and ranchers are ready to put America First. Over 97 percent of our agricultural counties voted for President Donald Trump last November, and he will never forget their commitment to his agenda. Now is the time to put that agenda into effect. The One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) unleashes economic growth and restores fiscal sanity. With the largest tax cut for middle- and working-class Americans in history, an increased child tax credit, new Trump savings account for newborns, historic tax relief for seniors, and no tax on tips and overtime, every American family wins with the OBBB. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke L. Rollins takes a question from the audience after signing three new SNAP food choice waivers for the states of Idaho, Utah, and Arkansas in her office at the United States... U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke L. Rollins takes a question from the audience after signing three new SNAP food choice waivers for the states of Idaho, Utah, and Arkansas in her office at the United States Department of Agriculture Whitten Building on June 10, 2025, in Washington, D.C. MoreAnd this bill will serve no one more than our nation's farm families. The OBBB cuts taxes for farmers by over $10 billion and prevents the death tax from hitting 2 million family-owned farms that would otherwise see their exemptions cut in half. Along with bolstering the farm safety net for producers to protect against significant economic losses, which has not been updated since 2014, the OBBB also makes risk management tools more affordable at a time of significant risk because of the previous administration's neglect of our rural communities. The bill also helps the 98 percent of farming operations that are taxed according to their owners' individual tax rate by protecting the small business deduction. Because the agricultural industry leverages one-fifth of all small business deductions across the American economy, the OBBB's doubling of Section 179 deductions to $2.5 million will provide major relief for farming operations across the country. The extension of the Section 199A Qualified Business Income Deduction will also save farmers thousands of dollars every year. The OBBB also realigns the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to President Trump's mission of cutting waste, fraud, and abuse across the federal bureaucracy. On any given day, USDA spends nearly $265 million on SNAP benefits alone, not including the 15 other nutrition programs at the department. In 2023, over $11 billion in erroneous SNAP payments was issued. The bill is centered on increased accountability, on both the individual recipient and the state administering the program. To address this waste of taxpayer dollars, the OBBB implements a state cost-share program proportionate to state payment error rates, which will incentivize states to distribute SNAP funds only to those who qualify. The bill also expands work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents. Welfare should be a helping hand, not a pathway to lifelong dependency. With over 4 million jobs available across the country, SNAP work requirements will restore dignity through work. Under President Trump's leadership, this careless use of taxpayer money is ending so USDA can refocus its resources on revitalizing rural communities and uplifting the farm families that provide the food, fuel, and fiber for our great nation. And the OBBB finally ends taxpayer subsidization of mass migration by ensuring only U.S. citizens or green card holders are eligible for SNAP. Our food assistance programs are funded by Americans for Americans. This bill puts the American people first by providing assistance to those in need while doing right by hardworking taxpayers. Over the next decade, the OBBB increases the farmer safety net, crop insurance, and trade programs. These changes to farm support will allow USDA to return to our core mission of putting Farmers First and restoring rural prosperity across the country. At USDA, we are working every day on behalf of our farmers and ranchers to ensure President Trump's America First agenda unleashes prosperity for generations to come. Brooke L. Rollins is the 33rd United States secretary of Agriculture. The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
Associated Press
22 minutes ago
- Associated Press
New Hampshire lawsuit seeks to stop politicization of youth center abuse victims' fund
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Lawyers representing hundreds of men and woman who claim they were abused at New Hampshire's youth detention center filed a class action lawsuit Friday seeking to prevent the independent administrator of the state's settlement fund for victims from being replaced with a political appointee. Lawmakers created the settlement fund in 2022, pitching it as a 'victim-centered' and 'trauma-informed' alternative to litigation that would be run by a neutral administrator appointed by the state Supreme Court. But the Republican-led Legislature changed that process through last-minute additions to the state budget approved Thursday and signed into law by Gov. Kelly Ayotte on Friday. Under the new provisions taking effect July 1, the governor will have the authority to hire and fire the fund's administrator, and the attorney general — also a political appointee — would have veto power over settlement awards. In affidavits filed with their complaint, the lead plaintiffs said the change amounts to a bait and switch that reignited the skepticism they initially felt about the settlement process but tried to put aside. 'I never would have shared the full story of what happened to me if I did not think I would be heard by someone impartial,' said a woman identified only as Jane Doe, who said she ran away from home to escape sexual abuse only to be further abused in state custody. 'I feel incredibly betrayed by the state's actions, but this is just the latest in a long list of betrayals by the state, so maybe I should not be surprised,' she said. 'This also makes me wonder whether the state will next betray the promise of confidentiality, because it seems like their word does not mean anything to them.' Another plaintiff, Andrew Foley, described being diagnosed with PTSD, not from his time as a combat soldier in Iraq but from the physical and sexual abuse he suffered as a child. 'As I understand it, the State will now decide for itself how much my claim is worth. That is the opposite of a fair process,' his affidavit said. 'As I always believed, the state cannot be trusted.' Neither Ayotte nor Attorney General John Formella responded to requests for comment Friday. More than 1,300 people have sued since 2020 alleging that they were physically or sexually abused in state custody as children, most of them at the Sununu Youth Services Center in Manchester. Only one case has gone to trial, resulting in a $38 million verdict, though the state is trying to slash it to $475,000. Two other cases have been settled for $10 million and $4.5 million. The state also has brought criminal charges against former workers, with two convictions and two mistrials so far. Many of the alleged victims put their lawsuits on hold and applied to the settlement fund, which caps payouts at $2.5 million. As of March 31, 296 cases had been settled, with an average award of $543,000, according to the most recently available statistics. The lawsuit filed Friday seeks a temporary restraining order to prevent the governor from firing the current administrator, former state Supreme Court Chief Justice John Broderick.
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump Speeds Up Tax Bill Deadline as Tentative SALT Deal Reached
(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump amped up pressure on Congress to speed passage of his tax-cut bill as Republicans reached a tentative deal on the state and local tax deduction, one of the key sticking points in the negotiations. Philadelphia Transit System Votes to Cut Service by 45%, Hike Fares US Renters Face Storm of Rising Costs Squeezed by Crowds, the Roads of Central Park Are Being Reimagined Mapping the Architectural History of New York's Chinatown Sprawl Is Still Not the Answer 'The House of Representatives must be ready to send it to my desk before July 4th — We can get it done,' Trump said on Truth Social Friday. The new deadline — before July 4 — is somewhat of a reversal for the president who, hours earlier told reporters that it wouldn't be the 'end-all' if Congress missed the self-imposed Independence Day goal. On Friday afternoon, the tentative SALT deal suggested that Republicans may have momentum on their side. The agreement involved raising the limit on the state and local tax deduction to $40,000 a year for a five-year period, Senator John Hoeven told reporters. New York Republican Mike Lawler, a key negotiator, later confirmed the deal and told Bloomberg TV he believes it 'will pass.' The new cap would provide complete SALT relief to more than 90% of his constituents, he estimated. Senators said the tentative plan is to begin voting on the bill Saturday midday. It wasn't immediately clear whether SALT Caucus member Nick LaLota of New York would back the deal. His vote could end up being needed due to the narrow Republican majority in the House. GOP lawmakers from New York, New Jersey and California have pressed to preserve a deal included in the House bill that increased the deduction cap to $40,000, up from the $10,000 in current law, for 10 years. The original Senate draft kept the write-off at $10,000. The latest deal retains a House proposal to phase out the deduction for taxpayers with at least $500,000 in income, a person familiar said, who requested anonymity to discuss private conversations. Republicans also plan to drop new limits they had sought on pass-through businesses' deductions of state and local tax taxes, the person said. Until now, some business owners in most states haven't actually needed to abide by the SALT cap that applies to everyone else, thanks to legal workarounds approved by legislatures in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, California and dozens of other states. The House version of Trump's massive tax and spending package put curbs on those workarounds. The SALT provision has been one of several holdups for the Trump tax bill in the Senate. Senate Republican Leader John Thune is also trying to navigate competing demands from conservatives and moderates on social safety net cuts and the elimination of clean energy tax credits. He will need to resolve most of the disputes to secure the votes he needs to pass the bill. The massive tax and spending package is the legislative centerpiece of Trump's economic agenda. The Senate version makes permanent individual and business tax breaks enacted in 2017, while adding temporary new breaks for tipped and overtime workers, seniors and car-buyers. The bill would add hundreds of billions of dollars in new spending for the military, border patrol and immigration enforcement. To partly pay for the revenue losses, the bill reduces spending on Medicaid health insurance for the poor and disabled, food assistance for low-income Americans and financial aid to college students. The measure would also avert a US payment default as soon as August by raising the debt ceiling by $5 trillion. --With assistance from Kailey Leinz and Joe Mathieu. (Updates with Lawler in fifth paragraph) America's Top Consumer-Sentiment Economist Is Worried How to Steal a House Inside Gap's Last-Ditch, Tariff-Addled Turnaround Push Luxury Counterfeiters Keep Outsmarting the Makers of $10,000 Handbags Apple Test-Drives Big-Screen Movie Strategy With F1 ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
