DayofPal – Save the Children International has terminated its long-standing relationship with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), citing the firm’s involvement in controversial Gaza-related projects that include plans to forcibly relocate Palestinians and militarize aid operations.
In an internal email to staff on 8 July, CEO Inger Ashing referenced explosive revelations by the Financial Times about BCG’s role in designing and launching the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a project widely condemned by humanitarian groups for serving Israeli war aims and undermining independent relief coordination in Gaza.
“The modelling of a plan to forcibly relocate Palestinians from Gaza and the calculation of a per-person cost for displacement, devoid of any humanity, disregards fundamental rights and dignity and raises serious ethical and legal questions,” Ashing wrote.
The Financial Times investigation, published Sunday, revealed that BCG signed a multimillion-dollar contract to develop the GHF, which is backed by both the US and Israeli governments. The report found that more than a dozen BCG employees worked on the project over seven months, including top-level executives in the company’s risk and social impact sectors.
The project included comprehensive financial modeling for rebuilding Gaza after the war, with a focus on relocating more than 500,000 Palestinians. One proposed scenario involved offering displaced Gazans a “resettlement package” of $9,000 per person, with the assumption that roughly 75 percent of them would not return.
The idea of calculating a “cost per displaced person” has sparked outrage among human rights organizations. For Save the Children, which has operated in Gaza for decades, this crossed a red line.
“Such actions are incompatible with our values,” Ashing told staff. “There can be no neutrality when basic human dignity is on the line.”
The GHF has also come under fire for its reliance on armed security contractors. According to the FT, BCG assisted in establishing ties between the foundation and a U.S. private security firm tasked with protecting GHF aid sites, raising alarm over the militarization of humanitarian space in a war zone.
Critics warn that GHF, positioned as an alternative to UN relief coordination in Gaza, not only erodes international humanitarian standards but also enables policies of forced displacement under the guise of aid.
Save the Children’s move to sever ties with BCG marks one of the most significant breaks between the humanitarian sector and corporate consultancies accused of facilitating Israeli and U.S. objectives in the war on Gaza.
“Any involvement in planning or supporting the displacement of Palestinian civilians is a betrayal of the very principles that define humanitarianism,” Ashing stated. “We will not be complicit.”
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