Gaza Humanitarian Foundation: A Dystopian Killing Machine
In the 1976 science fiction film Logan’s Run, adapted from the 1967 novel by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson, a dystopian society enforces a ritual known as “Carousel,” where citizens reaching the age of 30 are compelled to participate in a public spectacle that promises renewal but delivers death. This mechanism maintains societal balance by eliminating the old to make room for the young, cloaked in the illusion of choice and salvation. In a chilling parallel, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), established in February 2025 to distribute aid in Gaza, can be framed as a modern equivalent of Carousel—a system that, under the guise of humanitarian relief, subjects Palestinians to a deadly ordeal, forcing them into a perilous gamble for survival while serving broader political and military objectives. This essay explores the GHF’s operations through the lens of Logan’s Run, drawing analogies between its aid distribution model and the dystopian Carousel, highlighting the militarization of aid, the dehumanization of recipients, and the systemic control it enables.
In Logan’s Run, Carousel is presented as a voluntary act of renewal, a chance for citizens to ascend to a higher state of existence. The truth, however, is grim: participants are vaporized, their deaths ensuring resource allocation for the remaining population. Similarly, the GHF, backed by the U.S. and Israeli governments, markets itself as a humanitarian lifeline, claiming to deliver aid directly to Gaza’s civilians while bypassing Hamas interference. It boasts of providing over 52 million meals in five weeks, framing its work as a solution to Gaza’s famine-like conditions following Israel’s blockade. Yet, like Carousel, this promise conceals a darker reality. The GHF’s aid distribution system, operational since late May 2025, has been condemned by over 170 NGOs, including Oxfam and Save the Children, as “not a humanitarian response” but a mechanism that endangers lives.
The GHF’s model requires Palestinians to travel long distances through militarized zones to reach a handful of heavily guarded distribution sites, often under gunfire from Israeli forces or private contractors. Reports indicate that over 613 Palestinians have been killed and more than 4,200 wounded while seeking aid at these sites, leading survivors to label them “death traps” rather than relief hubs. This echoes the false hope of Carousel, where participants are lured by the prospect of renewal only to face annihilation. The GHF’s aid, while ostensibly life-saving, becomes a lethal lure, forcing Gazans into a desperate choice: starve or risk death to access meager rations.
In Logan’s Run, Carousel is a tightly controlled spectacle, orchestrated by the city’s authorities to maintain order and compliance. The GHF’s aid distribution similarly operates under strict military oversight, with Israeli forces and U.S.-based private security contractors, such as Safe Reach Solutions, securing the sites. This militarization violates core humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality, and independence, as noted by the UN and organizations like Amnesty International. The GHF’s coordination with Israeli authorities, who control Gaza’s borders and aid flow, transforms humanitarian assistance into a tool of military strategy, much like Carousel serves the dystopian regime’s population control.
The GHF’s centralized distribution hubs—four sites in southern and central Gaza—mirror the singular, controlled arena of Carousel. These hubs, surrounded by barbed wire and watch points, are designed to condense Palestinians into confined, militarized enclaves, facilitating surveillance and control. Critics, including Doctors Without Borders, describe the system as a “slaughter masquerading as aid,” with chaotic distributions where thousands compete for limited supplies, often resulting in mass casualties. This setup recalls the orchestrated chaos of Carousel, where the crowd’s desperation fuels the spectacle, masking the systemic violence.
Furthermore, the GHF’s operations align with Israel’s broader objectives, which some humanitarian groups accuse of aiming to displace Palestinians. By limiting aid to southern Gaza and forcing northern residents to undertake dangerous journeys, the GHF exacerbates displacement, paralleling how Carousel eliminates surplus population to maintain societal “balance.” The UN has condemned this model as “dehumanizing,” noting that it fails to address Gaza’s widespread needs, much like Carousel prioritizes systemic stability over individual lives.
In Logan’s Run, Carousel participants are stripped of their humanity, reduced to faceless entities in a ritual that deems their lives expendable. Similarly, the GHF’s aid system dehumanizes Palestinians, treating them as threats rather than individuals with dignity. A former contractor for the GHF reported a culture where guards referred to Gazans as “zombie hordes,” firing on crowds with live rounds, stun grenades, and mace. This language and behavior echo the detachment of Logan’s Run’s enforcers, who view Carousel participants as mere cogs in a machine.
The GHF’s distribution process further compounds this dehumanization. Palestinians, including women, children, and the elderly, must walk miles to reach sites, only to face violence and chaos. A displaced mother, Samah Hamdan, described walking nine miles to collect spilled pasta, underscoring the indignity of the process. Like Carousel’s participants, who are compelled to perform for their survival, Gazans are forced into a degrading spectacle, risking their lives for scraps of food. The UN’s human rights chief, Volker Türk, has called this system “unconscionable,” highlighting its violation of international law by endangering civilians.
The Carousel in Logan’s Run is not merely a tool for population control but a symbol of the regime’s power to dictate life and death. The GHF, too, serves as an instrument of power, enabling Israel and its U.S. backers to reshape Gaza’s humanitarian landscape. By sidelining established aid agencies like UNRWA and the World Food Programme, the GHF undermines decades of humanitarian infrastructure, replacing it with a politicized, militarized model. This mirrors the dystopian regime’s erasure of individual agency, forcing compliance with a singular, controlled system.
The GHF’s leadership, including figures like Rev. Johnnie Moore, a Trump adviser with ties to evangelical and pro-Israel agendas, reinforces its political alignment. Moore’s appointment, following Jake Wood’s resignation over concerns about neutrality, signals a shift toward overt politicization, much like the ideological underpinnings of Logan’s Run’s regime. The GHF’s opaque funding and lack of transparency further parallel the secretive machinations of the dystopian city, where truth is obscured to maintain control.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, like the Carousel in Logan’s Run, is a killing machine cloaked in benevolence but rooted in control and violence. Its militarized aid distribution system forces Palestinians into a deadly ritual, where the promise of survival is overshadowed by the risk of death. By dehumanizing recipients, centralizing control, and serving political objectives, the GHF transforms humanitarian aid into a dystopian spectacle, undermining the very principles it claims to uphold. As over 170 NGOs and the UN demand its dismantlement, the analogy to Carousel underscores the urgency of restoring genuine humanitarian systems that prioritize dignity, impartiality, and life. Just as Logan’s Run’s protagonists seek to escape their oppressive system, the people of Gaza deserve a path to survival free from the perils of this dystopian killing machine.