Speaking to reporters on the Gazan side of the Kerem Shalom Crossing, a senior officer in Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories says only limited aid is entering the Strip because of a “lack of cooperation from the international community,” while also dismissing Hamas’s “famine narrative” as a tactic used in the ongoing hostage talks.

Col. Abdullah Halabi, head of COGAT’s Coordination and Liaison Administration for Gaza, says that approximately 1,000 trucks’ worth of aid are piled up inside the Strip, awaiting collection by the United Nations and aid groups.

He says truckloads are waiting on the Gaza side of the crossing “due to a lack of cooperation from the international community and international organizations.”

“We have seen in the last two days a slight improvement in their work, especially in the UN’s position and the UN’s organizations. We invited them here as we have done several times to continue to encourage them, to check together with them what can be done to transfer this aid in,” he says.

The UN has repeatedly claimed that COGAT has refused its requests for collection and distribution authorization, and that dangerous and complex conditions inside Gaza made aid distribution very difficult.

Halabi says Israeli moves in recent weeks to facilitate the delivery of aid include “expanding” the Kerem Shalom Crossing, and opening up three other terminals in the north and center of the Strip.

“We allowed longer work hours, and we took all the necessary steps to allow the international community to bring a very large amount of humanitarian aid into [Gaza], to combat the famine narrative, which Hamas uses to fight against us,” he says.

“The State of Israel allows the entry of humanitarian aid beyond the standards of international law, without restriction. As long as the international community makes an effort to bring in the aid, we will allow them to bring it in,” he continues.

According to Halabi, the military and COGAT have identified an “intense and violent campaign” by Hamas against Israel’s humanitarian aid mechanism.

“This campaign is based on lies,” he says, referring to claims of widespread starvation in Gaza. “It was created not to help Gaza’s population receive the aid, but primarily to improve Hamas’s standings in the [hostage] negotiations that are taking place over the last few days, and it is using different means, in particular the famine narrative, to improve their standings.”

Halabi notes recent reported attacks by Hamas against the new aid distribution sites, run by the Israel and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, accusing Hamas of working “to create chaos and to create a reality in which the humanitarian situation is depicted poorly.”

There have been repeated reports of mass killings outside aid sites, most of them blamed on Israeli fire. Israel has admitted firing warning shots at groups of civilians getting too close to troops.

The depiction of the humanitarian situation in Gaza “doesn’t correspond with the 4,500 trucks that entered in the last two months, carrying everything, from personal humanitarian aid for families to medical equipment, hygienic supplies, and more,” he claims.

“We, the army and COGAT, will continue doing whatever is possible and necessary, improve the relevant conditions, strengthen our relationship with the international community and with the different humanitarian organizations, and help them to allow the entry of aid,” he continues.

“We are fighting Hamas, we will continue to fight Hamas. We will not allow a reality in which Hamas uses anything, whether it is humanitarian aid or any other means, to strengthen its interests or itself,” Halabi says.

Parcels of humanitarian aid await transfer into Gaza, at the Gaza side of the Kerem Shalom crossing in the Gaza Strip, July 24, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen EDITOR’S NOTE: REUTERS PHOTOGRAPHS WERE REVIEWED BY THE IDF AS PART OF THE CONDITIONS OF THE EMBED. NO PHOTOS WERE REMOVED./File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab

Summary State Department disputes findings, cites video evidence of Hamas looting

Israel claims Hamas diverts aid, based on its intelligence reports

GHF accuses Hamas of theft, U.N. rejects GHF’s militarized model

WASHINGTON, July 25 (Reuters) – An internal U.S. government analysis found no evidence of systematic theft by the Palestinian militant group Hamas of U.S.-funded humanitarian supplies, challenging the main rationale that Israel and the U.S. give for backing a new armed private aid operation.

The analysis, which has not been previously reported, was conducted by a bureau within the U.S. Agency for International Development and completed in late June. It examined 156 incidents of theft or loss of U.S.-funded supplies reported by U.S. aid partner organizations between October 2023 and this May.

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It found “no reports alleging Hamas” benefited from U.S.-funded supplies, according to a slide presentation of the findings seen by Reuters.

A State Department spokesperson disputed the findings, saying there is video evidence of Hamas looting aid, but provided no such videos. The spokesperson also accused traditional humanitarian groups of covering up “aid corruption.”

A White House spokesperson, Anna Kelly, questioned the existence of the analysis, saying no State Department official had seen it and that it “was likely produced by a deep state operative” seeking to discredit President Donald Trump’s “humanitarian agenda.”

The findings were shared with the USAID’s inspector general’s office and State Department officials involved in Middle East policy, said two sources familiar with the matter, and come as dire food shortages deepen in the devastated enclave.

Israel says it is committed to allowing in aid but must control it to prevent it from being stolen by Hamas, which it blames for the crisis.

The U.N. World Food Program says nearly a quarter of Gaza’s 2.1 million Palestinians face famine-like conditions, thousands are suffering acute malnutrition, and the World Health Organization and doctors in the enclave report starvation deaths of children and others.

The U.N. also estimates that Israeli forces have killed more than 1,000 people seeking food supplies, the majority near the militarized distribution sites of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the new private aid group that uses a for-profit U.S. logistics firm run by a former CIA officer and armed U.S. military veterans.

The study was conducted by the Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) of USAID, which was the largest funder of assistance to Gaza before the Trump administration froze all U.S. foreign aid in January, terminating thousands of programs. It has also begun dismantling USAID, whose functions have been folded into the State Department.

The analysis found that at least 44 of the 156 incidents where aid supplies were reported stolen or lost were “either directly or indirectly” due to Israeli military actions, according to the briefing slides.

Israel’s military did not respond to questions about those findings.

The study noted a limitation: because Palestinians who receive aid cannot be vetted, it was possible that U.S.-funded supplies went to administrative officials of Hamas, the Islamist rulers of Gaza.

One source familiar with the study also cautioned that the absence of reports of widespread aid diversion by Hamas “does not mean that diversion has not occurred.”

The war in Gaza began after Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and capturing 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Nearly 60,000 Palestinians have been killed since the Israeli assault began, according to Palestinian health officials.

ISRAEL SAYS HAMAS DIVERTS HUMANITARIAN AID

Israel, which controls access to Gaza, has said that Hamas steals food supplies from U.N. and other organizations to use to control the civilian population and boost its finances, including by jacking up the prices of the goods and reselling them to civilians.

Asked about the USAID report, the Israeli military told Reuters that its allegations are based on intelligence reports that Hamas militants seized cargoes by “both covertly and overtly” embedding themselves on aid trucks.

Those reports also show that Hamas has diverted up to 25% of aid supplies to its fighters or sold them to civilians, the Israeli military said, adding that GHF has ended the militants’ control of aid by distributing it directly to civilians.

Hamas denies the allegations. A Hamas security official said that Israel has killed more than 800 Hamas-affiliated police and security guards trying to protect aid vehicles and convoy routes. Their missions were coordinated with the U.N.

Reuters could not independently verify the claims by Hamas and Israel, which has not made public proof that the militants have systematically stolen aid.

GHF also accuses Hamas of massive aid theft in defending its distribution model. The U.N. and other groups have rejected calls by GHF, Israel and the U.S. to cooperate with the foundation, saying it violates international humanitarian principles of neutrality.

In response to a request for comment, GHF referred Reuters to a July 2 Washington Post article that quoted an unidentified Gazan and anonymous Israeli officials as saying Hamas profited from the sales and taxing of pilfered humanitarian aid.

AID GROUPS REQUIRED TO REPORT LOSSES

The 156 reports of theft or losses of supplies reviewed by BHA were filed by U.N. agencies and other humanitarian groups working in Gaza as a condition of receiving U.S. aid funds.

The second source familiar with the matter said that after receiving reports of U.S.-funded aid thefts or losses, USAID staff followed up with partner organizations to try to determine if there was Hamas involvement.

Those organizations also would “redirect or pause” aid distributions if they learned that Hamas was in the vicinity, the source said.

Aid organizations working in Gaza also are required to vet their personnel, sub-contractors and suppliers for ties to extremist groups before receiving U.S. funds, a condition that the State Department waived in approving $30 million for GHF last month.

The slide presentation noted that USAID partners tended to over-report aid diversion and theft by groups sanctioned or designated by the U.S. as foreign terrorist organizations – such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad – because they want to avoid losing U.S. funding.

Of the 156 incidents of loss or theft reported, 63 were attributed to unknown perpetrators, 35 to armed actors, 25 to unarmed people, 11 directly to Israeli military action, 11 to corrupt subcontractors, five to aid group personnel “engaging in corrupt activities,” and six to “others,” a category that accounted for “commodities stolen in unknown circumstances,” according to the slide presentation.

The armed actors “included gangs and other miscellaneous individuals who may have had weapons,” said a slide. Another slide said “a review of all 156 incidents found no affiliations with” U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organizations, of which Hamas is one.

“The majority of incidents could not be definitively attributed to a specific actor,” said another slide. “Partners often largely discovered the commodities had been stolen in transit without identifying the perpetrator.”

It is possible there were classified intelligence reports on Hamas aid thefts, but BHA staff lost access to classified systems in the dismantlement of USAID, said a slide.

However, a source familiar with U.S. intelligence assessments told Reuters that they knew of no U.S. intelligence reports detailing Hamas aid diversions and that Washington was relying on Israeli reports.

The BHA analysis found that the Israeli military “directly or indirectly caused” a total of 44 incidents in which U.S.-funded aid was lost or stolen. Those included the 11 attributed to direct Israeli military actions, such as airstrikes or orders to Palestinians to evacuate areas of the war-torn enclave.

Losses indirectly attributed to Israeli military included cases where they compelled aid groups to use delivery routes with high risks of theft or looting, ignoring requests for alternative routes, the analysis said.

Reporting by Jonathan Landay; Additional reporting by Maayan Lubell in Jerusalem; Editing by Don Durfee and Claudia Parsons

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab

WASHINGTON — An internal US government analysis has found no evidence of systematic theft by the Hamas terror group of US-funded humanitarian supplies, challenging the main rationale that Israel and the US give for backing a new armed private aid operation.

The analysis was conducted by a bureau within the US Agency for International Development and completed in late June. It examined 156 incidents of theft or loss of US-funded supplies reported by USAID partner organizations between October 2023 and May.

It found “no reports alleging Hamas” benefited from US-funded supplies, according to a slide presentation of the findings seen by Reuters.

The analysis was unable to attribute most instances of theft to a particular actor, although it noted that because Palestinians who receive aid cannot be vetted, US-funded supplies might have been going to Hamas nonetheless.

A State Department spokesperson disputed the findings, saying there is video evidence of Hamas looting aid, but provided no such videos. The spokesperson also accused traditional humanitarian groups of covering up “aid corruption.”

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The findings were shared with the USAID’s inspector general’s office and State Department officials involved in Middle East policy, said two sources familiar with the matter, as dire food shortages deepen in the devastated enclave.

The study was conducted by the Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) of USAID, which was the largest funder of assistance to Gaza before the Trump administration froze all US foreign aid in January, terminating thousands of programs. It has also begun dismantling USAID, whose functions have been folded into the State Department.

The analysis found that at least 44 of the 156 incidents where aid supplies were reported stolen or lost were “either directly or indirectly” due to IDF actions, according to the briefing slides.

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The IDF did not respond to questions about those findings.

One source familiar with the study cautioned that the absence of reports of widespread aid diversion by Hamas “does not mean that diversion has not occurred.”

The study also noted that because Palestinians who receive aid cannot be vetted, it was possible that US-funded supplies did go to Hamas, even when looters were not specifically identified as belonging to the terror group.

Israel, which controls access to Gaza, has accused Hamas of stealing food supplies from the UN and other organizations to use to control the civilian population and boost its finances, including by jacking up the prices of the goods and reselling them to civilians.

Asked about the USAID report, the IDF told Reuters that its allegations are based on intelligence reports that Hamas terrorists seized cargoes by “both covertly and overtly” embedding themselves on aid trucks.

Those intelligence reports also show that Hamas has diverted up to 25 percent of aid supplies to its fighters or sold them to civilians, the IDF said, adding that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which accuses Hamas of massive aid theft, has ended the terror group’s control of aid by distributing it directly to civilians.

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The UN and other groups have rejected calls by the GHF, Israel and the US to cooperate with the foundation, claiming it violates international humanitarian principles of neutrality.

Hamas denies stealing aid. A Hamas security official said that Israel has killed more than 800 Hamas-affiliated police and security guards trying to protect aid vehicles and convoy routes, asserting that their missions were coordinated with the UN.

Reuters could not independently verify the claims by Hamas or Israel.

The 156 reports of theft or loss of supplies reviewed by the BHA were filed by UN agencies and other humanitarian groups working in Gaza as a condition of receiving US aid funds.

The second source familiar with the matter said that after receiving reports of US-funded aid thefts or losses, USAID staff followed up with partner organizations to try to determine if there was Hamas involvement.

Those organizations also would “redirect or pause” aid distributions if they learned that Hamas was in the vicinity, the source said.

Aid organizations working in Gaza are also required to vet their personnel, subcontractors and suppliers for ties to extremist groups before receiving US funds, a condition that the State Department waived in approving $30 million for GHF last month.

Reporting theft as Hamas-related helps avoid loss of funding

The slide presentation noted that USAID partners tended to over-report aid diversion and theft by groups the US defines as foreign terrorist organizations, such as Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, because they want to avoid losing US funding.

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Of the 156 incidents of loss or theft reported, 63 were attributed to unknown perpetrators, 35 to armed actors, 25 to unarmed people, 11 to Israeli military action, 11 to corrupt subcontractors, five to aid group personnel “engaging in corrupt activities,” and six to “others,” a category that accounted for “commodities stolen in unknown circumstances,” according to the slide presentation.

The armed actors “included gangs and other miscellaneous individuals who may have had weapons,” said a slide. Another slide said “a review of all 156 incidents found no affiliations with” US-designated foreign terrorist organizations, of which Hamas is one.

“The majority of incidents could not be definitively attributed to a specific actor,” said another slide. “Partners often largely discovered the commodities had been stolen in transit without identifying the perpetrator.”

It is possible there were classified intelligence reports on Hamas aid thefts, but BHA staff lost access to classified systems in the dismantlement of USAID, said a slide.

However, a source familiar with US intelligence assessments told Reuters that they knew of no US intelligence reports detailing Hamas aid diversions and that Washington was relying on Israeli reports.

The BHA analysis found that the Israeli military “directly or indirectly caused” a total of 44 incidents in which US-funded aid was lost or stolen. Those included the 11 attributed to direct Israeli military actions, such as airstrikes or orders to Palestinians to evacuate areas of the war-torn enclave.

Losses indirectly attributed to the IDF included cases where they compelled aid groups to use delivery routes with high risks of theft or looting, ignoring requests for alternative routes, the analysis said.

Gazans dying of malnutrition, as UN urges Israel to allow unrestricted aid access

Image source, Reuters

“Hunger is everywhere you look,” an aid worker in Gaza tells the BBC.

According to the Hamas-run health ministry, 113 people, including 81 children, have died of malnutrition since 7 October 2023.

In the few remaining food markets in Gaza, prices have skyrocketed – UK charity Christian Aid reports that a bag of flour now costs more than £400.

The charity’s consultant in the territory says humanitarian aid provides the main source of food, but it is “very dangerous to try and access”. The UN has said at least 1,054 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military while seeking food since 27 May.

The chief of the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency (Unrwa), Philippe Lazzarini, says the organisation has 6,000 trucks’ worth of aid waiting in Egypt and Jordan to enter Gaza. He calls on Israel to allow “unrestricted and uninterrupted humanitarian assistance to Gaza”.

Israel has said that 150 food trucks were collected by the UN and aid organisations in Gaza on Wednesday, it also says more than 800 await collection. Aid organisations blame an Israeli “siege” for the mass starvation in Gaza.

Earlier, BBC News and news agencies AFP, AP and Reuters warned that journalists in Gaza are at risk of starvation and urged Israel to allow journalists in and out of the region.

And, Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu has recalled his team of negotiators in Doha. An Israel-Hamas ceasefire is still yet to materialise as the war continues.

We’re now closing our live coverage. You can keep up to date in our news story.