[News] USAID analysis contradicts Israeli claims Hamas 'stole' humanitarian aid in Gaza

[Anti-Imperialist News]

  USAID analysis contradicts Israeli claims Hamas 'stole'
  humanitarian aid in Gaza

Israel has used the false claim to take control of aid and restrict its 
entry into Gaza, causing severe famine and starvation

News Desk <https://thecradle.co/authors/news-desk-9>

JUL 25, 2025 - 
https://thecradle.co/articles/usaid-analysis-contradicts-israeli-claims-hamas-stole-humanitarian-aid-in-gaza

(Photo credit: Getty Images)

An internal US government analysis has found no evidence that Hamas 
systematically diverted US-funded humanitarian aid in Gaza, /Reuters 
/reported 
<https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/usaid-analysis-found-no-evidence-massive-hamas-theft-gaza-aid-2025-07-25/>on 
25 July, undercutting one of the key justifications given by both Israel 
and Washington for backing the deadly Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) 
aid scheme.

The review, conducted by the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) 
within the US Agency for International Development (USAID), examined 156 
incidents of aid theft or loss reported by USAID partners between 
October 2023 and May 2024.

According to briefing slides seen by /Reuters/, the analysis found “no 
reports alleging Hamas” benefited from the lost supplies.

The findings, completed in late June, were shared with the USAID 
inspector general and US State Department officials.

Yet a State Department spokesperson publicly rejected the conclusions, 
claiming Hamas has looted aid and accusing traditional humanitarian 
groups of covering up corruption. However, no evidence was provided to 
support those assertions.

The revelations come amid growing desperation in Gaza, where nearly a 
quarter of the 2.1 million residents face famine conditions. The World 
Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO) report 
increasing levels of acute malnutrition and starvation-related deaths.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces reportedly killed over 1,000 Palestinians 
seeking aid, most near militarized distribution points operated by the 
GHF, a private aid effort run by a US logistics firm linked to ex-CIA 
officers and armed US veterans.

Despite Israel’s assertion that Hamas diverts aid to control the 
population and profit from resale, the USAID study paints a different 
picture. Of the 156 recorded incidents, 63 involved unknown 
perpetrators, 35 armed actors, 25 unarmed individuals, and 11 were 
directly caused by Israeli military action.

Another 33 were linked to corrupt subcontractors, aid group personnel, 
or other ambiguous causes. Significantly, no incident was attributed to 
any US-designated terrorist group, including Hamas.

In fact, the study concluded that Israeli military actions “directly or 
indirectly caused” 44 of the incidents. These included airstrikes, 
evacuation orders, and forcing aid deliveries along insecure routes 
despite NGO objections.

A Hamas official claimed over 800 of its affiliated police had been 
killed while protecting aid convoys – operations coordinated with the UN.

While analysts caution that a lack of reporting does not guarantee zero 
diversion, a source familiar with US intelligence told /Reuters/ there 
are no US intelligence assessments detailing Hamas misappropriating aid. 
Instead, Washington’s concerns appear largely reliant on Israeli claims.

On 22 June, /Reuters /reported 
<https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/baby-boy-starves-death-gaza-hunger-spreads-medics-say-2025-07-22/?utm_source=chatgpt.com> 
that 15 Palestinians had starved to death in just 24 hours in Gaza, 
including a six-week-old boy named Yousef.

The infant's family was unable to find baby formula to feed him.

“You can't get milk anywhere, and if you do find any, it's $100 for a 
tub,” said Adham al-Safadi, Yousef’s uncle.

Three other children were among the 15 who starved to death, including 
13-year-old Abdulhamid al-Ghalban, who died in a hospital in the 
southern city of Khan Yunis.

Israel has killed nearly 60,000 Palestinians in Gaza since the war began 
in 2023, according to health officials in the devastated enclave.

Independent estimates suggest the death toll is much higher, above 
100,000, with thousands still missing under the rubble of buildings and 
homes destroyed by Israeli bombing.

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