No Proof Hamas Took U.S. Aid, Says USAID Report
A new U.S. government study says there is no proof that Hamas stole aid paid for by the U.S. The report was done by the Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance (BHA), part of USAID. It looked at 156 cases where food or supplies went missing in Gaza from October 2023 to May 2024.
USAID said it found no reports that Hamas took any of the U.S. aid. However, the U.S. State Department disagrees. It says there is video proof that Hamas looted aid, but it has not shared any videos.
The report said that in at least 44 cases, the Israeli military was directly or indirectly responsible for the loss of aid. These included airstrikes and forced route changes that made it easier for supplies to be stolen.
Israel says Hamas often takes food and aid to control people in Gaza and makes money by selling it. It also says Hamas hides on aid trucks and steals up to 25% of the supplies. But so far, Israel has not shown clear proof. Hamas denies this and says Israel killed hundreds of its police who were guarding aid convoys.
The UN and aid groups say the hunger crisis in Gaza is getting worse. Nearly 25% of people are facing famine. Children have died of starvation, and thousands are suffering from malnutrition.
The U.N. also says over 1,000 people were killed while trying to collect aid, mostly near heavily guarded aid distribution points.
The private group Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), backed by a U.S. company and former CIA officers, is now running many aid deliveries. GHF also accuses Hamas of stealing aid. But U.N. agencies say GHF violates humanitarian rules and refuse to work with it.
USAID’s report showed that:
63 thefts were by unknown people
35 by armed actors
25 by civilians
11 by the Israeli military
11 by corrupt subcontractors
5 by aid workers
6 unknown
USAID said most thefts were hard to link to any group. Also, no case was linked to Hamas or any U.S.-listed terrorist group.
Some U.S. intelligence sources said that they also had no classified reports proving Hamas stole U.S. aid. Most U.S. decisions seem based on Israeli reports.
The report also showed that humanitarian groups often report aid theft quickly and stop aid delivery if they believe Hamas is nearby.
USAID was once the biggest provider of aid to Gaza, but it was shut down during the Trump administration. Its tasks are now handled by the U.S. State Department.
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