Staff walked out of Israeli-run Gaza ‘aid project’ condemned as a death trap

Four consultants at Boston Consulting Group (BCG), one of the world’s largest corporate consultancy firms, resigned from a Gaza aid project in its early stages, warning of serious ethical and reputational risks. 

Their departures are now central to an internal investigation into BCG’s role in designing the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an Israeli-backed initiative widely condemned by the UN and humanitarian groups over its role in weaponising food and the starvation of Gaza.

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According to reporting by the Financial Times, which has conducted extensive investigations into BCG’s involvement, three of the consultants resigned just one day after being assigned to the project, citing concerns about coordination with Israeli authorities and the involvement of private US security contractors. 

Their departures are now central to an internal investigation led by WilmerHale, a law firm commissioned by BCG to examine what the company has described as “process failures” in the handling of the Gaza project.

BCG was hired in October 2023 on a pro bono basis by Orbis, a US-based security contractor working with an Israeli think tank, to help design what would become the GHF. The firm internally codenamed the effort “Project Aurora” and initially tasked consultants from its US defence team to assist. But the departures of four staff over ethical and operational concerns foreshadowed the collapse of the project.

READ: Consulting firm leaves Gaza aid program amid criticism about operations

Internal records reviewed by investigators show that one military veteran on the team left shortly after compiling a list of reputational and legal concerns, including unease about the use of private contractors and the absence of multilateral support. BCG later admitted that its leadership had been misled by project partners, who “obfuscated” the reasons behind the consultants’ resignations.

BCG ultimately shut down its involvement just days before the GHF was formally launched in May 2025. It has since dismissed two partners and removed two senior executives from their roles. Chief executive Christoph Schweizer described the scandal as “deeply painful and profoundly disappointing.”

The firm’s withdrawal came amid a firestorm of criticism. The GHF has been denounced by the UN as a “fig leaf” for Israeli war objectives and accused of undermining established humanitarian principles. 

Further scrutiny was sparked by a Financial Times exposé, which revealed that BCG consultants had developed a post-war financial model for Israeli businessmen involved in the GHF, including costings for relocating Palestinians from Gaza to third countries such as Somalia. 

Humanitarian agencies that have worked with BCG in the past, including some UN-affiliated bodies, have suspended partnerships pending the outcome of the WilmerHale review.

BCG’s defence of its role has rested on claims that its consultants were prohibited from entering Gaza, that staff from its Israeli and Middle Eastern offices were excluded from the project, and that the GHF was falsely portrayed internally as having broad international backing. Those claims have since been discredited.

Meanwhile, new details have emerged about the GHF’s opaque funding. In a Channel 4 News report aired last night, GHF spokesperson Chapin Fay publicly admitted for the first time that the foundation has received “around $30 million” from the administration US President Donald Trump, as well as funds from “multiple Western European governments.” 

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