One of the leaders of a humanitarian organization distributing food and resources in war-torn Gaza recently revealed some surprising details surrounding what he believes has foiled efforts.

Johnnie Moore, executive chairman of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), contends one of the biggest barriers to getting aid to Gaza is the current assistance structure.

“I think the biggest barrier to getting aid to Gaza is a corrupt old system that has enabled the continuation of this war, that’s enabled Hamas to steal the aid, to sell it to the Gazan people, to hoard the aid for their own fighters,” he said. “And a type of like exhaustion with this process, and nobody tries anything different.”

Listen to the latest episode of “Quick Start”

Moore, a veteran public relations executive who has long worked in conservative and Christian spaces, said GHF is attempting to try new methods of distributing aid. Via this “different approach,” he said his organization seeks to protect aid and give it out for free.

“Frankly, we haven’t found Israel to be a barrier in that process at all,” Moore said. “To our surprise, the biggest barrier to us has actually been the international system, the United Nations, the World Food Program — those types of organizations that have inexplicably chosen to boycott us, having never boycotted Hamas.”

He charged that Hamas terrorists, bandits, and others have been seen taking aid from other groups’ trucks when they arrive in the Gaza Strip, leading to chaos and preventing resources from going to people in need.

“This cannot be the way this happens,” Moore said. “And yet the international community … they don’t care. Well, what we’re doing is we’re saying, ‘You actually can do this differently. You can give aid on scale without being diverted, without prolonging a conflict. It can be free.'”

He continued, “We can do it right, do it well, and do it successfully. And this should be celebrated by the world. For some reason, it isn’t.”

Moore believes one reason GHF has faced public relations struggles is because of a concerted and intentional campaign by Hamas to undermine their efforts.

“Hamas wants to scare Gazans from coming to get food in our distribution sites,” he said. “So they’re constantly spreading lies about massacres and violence happening in our distribution sites and these sorts of things. They want to keep people from coming. And then, by the way, they’re also threatening our local workers, even threatening their lives to try to keep them from helping us.”

But Moore said Gazans are coming “by the thousands” for aid and expressed gratitude to God that Hamas’ efforts to discourage people from seeking GHF’s help aren’t working.

“The second thing they want … they just want us to shut down,” Moore said. “But we’re not going to shut down. Our mission is really, really simple: We just have to feed the people of Gaza.”

GHF has faced criticism for a purported lack of independence from Israel, as both the U.S. and Israel support its efforts. Moore, for his part, told CBN News he’s not ashamed of his relationship with Israel and noted he also has close relations with various Arab nations.

Additionally, NBC News reported that GHF has limited distribution sites, which makes crowd control and access quite challenging. Others have claimed Palestinians are being targeted as they journey toward these distribution sites, with the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health telling media that 79 people were recently killed and claiming 51 died near GHF distribution areas.

GHF has pushed back against these claims, reporting that it has distributed millions of meals. The organization also noted a failure by the Gaza Health Ministry and some media outlets to report on UN sites that are experiencing similar issues, as CBS News has reported.

Regardless of claims and critiques, Moore’s focus is on ensuring people get the food they need to survive. Moore said resources are distributed through “secure distribution centers” that are staffed by a mixture of American contractors and locals, offering security and organized distribution of resources.

The Christian leader said he’s volunteering his time to help the effort because he believes the Middle East desperately needs peace.

“I’m dedicated to peace in the Middle East,” he said. “This is my passion.”

Moore continued, “This is a monumental, monumental task. It’s taking an enormous, enormous amount of time. … And, unfortunately, rather than doing it with the international community, we’re just fighting them every step of the way. And it shouldn’t be that way.”

Reuters reported this week that GHF is set to receive $30 million from the U.S. government via a U.S. Agency for International Development grant. Read more about that here.

Please sign up for Faithwire’s daily newsletter and download the CBN News app to stay up-to-date with the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.