GENEVA

A Swiss non-governmental organization has reiterated its call for Swiss authorities to investigate the activities of Geneva-based Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a US-backed aid group, raising alarm over its use of private military companies and warning of serious risks to civilians in the Gaza Strip.

"The Swiss FDFA (Federal Department of Foreign Affairs) has stated it will now review the legal requirements governing the activities of Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) with regard to resorting to private military companies. Meanwhile, the Federal Supervisory Board for Foundations (ASF) has clarified it cannot assess the Foundation's compliance with its statutes until operations begin," TRIAL International said in a statement on Monday.

"This is wrong, as activities have long started on the ground. TRIAL International has thus again written to the Swiss authorities to seek immediate review of the activities of the GHF," it said, adding: "Delivering aid through a private security-led model, as proposed, poses serious risks to civilians in Gaza and demands urgent action to ensure humanitarian principles and the Geneva Conventions are upheld."

The NGO stressed that humanitarian aid should never be used as" a weapon of war," and added that aid entrance to the enclave should be allowed and then distributed by "well-recognized actors."

The latest call came just days after the NGO filed two formal legal submissions to Swiss authorities, the ASF and the FDFA, asking to determine whether the activities of GHF are in line with Swiss law and international humanitarian law. It argued that Switzerland, as the depositary state of the Geneva Conventions, has a responsibility to ensure that entities based on its territory uphold international humanitarian law.

"The dire humanitarian situation in Gaza requires an immediate response. However, the planned use of private security companies leads to a risky militarization of aid, which is not justified in a context where the United Nations and humanitarian NGOs have the impartiality, resources and expertise necessary to distribute this aid without delay to the civilian population," Philip Grant, the executive director of TRIAL International said in the statement.

Earlier, the UN humanitarian office warned that recent reports of aid distribution by the GHF risk distracting from the urgent humanitarian priorities in Gaza, such as sustained access, safe conditions, and expedited approval of emergency supplies.

"It is a distraction from what is actually needed, which is a reopening of all the crossings into Gaza, a secure environment within Gaza, and faster facilitation of missions and final approvals of all the emergency supplies that we have just outside the border and needs to get in," Jens Laerke, spokesperson OCHA, told reporters in Geneva.

Laerke was responding to a question about whether the UN had seen any confirmed delivery of aid by the US-backed aid group GHF, which announced on Monday that it had begun distributing food in the enclave.

The GHF’s involvement in an Israeli-controlled aid mechanism has raised concern among humanitarian actors who say meaningful relief requires large-scale, sustained access.

Aid groups continue to call for the reopening of critical crossings like Rafah and Kerem Shalom and for the safety of humanitarian workers operating inside Gaza.