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An internal US government review found no evidence of widespread theft by Hamas of US-funded humanitarian aid in Gaza, contradicting the State Department’s claims that were used to justify backing a controversial private organization that took over aid distribution in the enclave.

The analysis, conducted by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), looked into 156 incidents of waste, fraud, and abuse reported by partner organizations between October 2023 and May 2025.

The review of the incidents, which was first reported by Reuters, “found no affiliations” with sanctioned groups or foreign terrorist organizations, according to a presentation seen by CNN.

Moreover, the review found only a small amount of misdirection of USAID-funded humanitarian aid in Gaza – less than one percent was affected by loss, theft, diversion, fraud or waste.

“There was no indication that there was a systemic loss due to Hamas interference or theft or diversion,” a source familiar with the report told CNN.

The Trump administration has repeatedly claimed there is widespread theft of humanitarian aid by Hamas. They have said that only the Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF), a private US and Israel-backed organization, is able to distribute assistance to the besieged enclave without such theft occurring.

“We want to see as much aid getting into Gaza as possible in a way that is not being looted by Hamas, and this mechanism, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, has been a way to do that,” State Department deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott said Thursday. “We’re calling for additional support of that foundation to deliver that aid.”

The USAID findings were presented to officials working in the State Department’s Middle East bureau, as well as people working on humanitarian aid and the USAID Office of the Inspector General. USAID ceased operations on July 1 and some of its work was transferred to the State Department. However, the USAID watchdog remains operational. It is unclear if the findings have been relayed to State Department leadership.

More than 1,000 people have been killed by Israeli forces while seeking aid, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry and the United Nations, with 60% killed while trying to reach GHF sites. Thousands are suffering from malnutrition and more than a dozen people have starved to death this week amid ongoing Israeli restrictions on aid.

A State Department spokesperson claimed there is “endless video evidence of Hamas looting” and “intelligence” showing that “a significant portion of non-GHF aid trucks have been diverted, looted, stolen, or ‘self-distributed.’” The spokesperson did not provide examples of the video evidence, but said “the mountain of evidence includes publicly available videos on social media.”

They also accused aid workers of lying about looting “in a poor attempt at an aid corruption coverup.”

“As the situation on the ground develops, we will continue to assess the most effective way to deliver aid to the people of Gaza,” the spokesperson said.

A spokesperson for USAID’s inspector general office said they have “consistently cautioned USAID, NGOs, and UN agencies of the risk of aid being diverted to Hamas and other terrorist organizations.”

“Our Gaza-related investigations continue, including into UNRWA staff that participated in the October 7 terrorist attacks,” the spokesperson said.

Another source familiar with the matter noted that a recent report from USAID’s OIG “has identified shortcomings and vulnerabilities in USAID’s ability to ensure that humanitarian assistance to Gaza is not diverted to Hamas and other terrorist organizations.”

The USAID analysis, which was completed in late June, noted that “the majority of incidents could not be definitively attributed to a specific actor.”

“Partners often largely discovered that commodities had been stolen in transit without identifying the perpetrator,” the presentation said.

Given the perpetrator could not be identified, it is possible that Hamas has stolen aid, two sources said. However, they cast doubt on the idea that there would be systemic theft without any evidence. Humanitarian officials in the past have also said they did not experience widespread diversion.

One of the sources noted that USAID does not vet the beneficiaries of its aid, so in theory, the families of Hamas government officials in Gaza could have received aid, “but that’s not an armed faction of Hamas. That’s the population of Gaza.”

The USAID analysis found that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) “was either directly or indirectly responsible for the loss” of US-provided aid in 28% of incidents of theft or waste between October 2023 and May 2025. The finding was based on the reports from partners organizations.

According to a presentation of the analysis, this included the loss of goods due to “airstrikes, evacuation orders, or IDF direction to use high risk delivery routes against partner requests.”

“Partners often noted that looting occurred en route (to distribution sites) despite extensive coordination with the IDF,” the presentation said. “When partners desired to take alternate routes due to high risk of theft or looting, they were forced by the IDF to take riskier routes with known threats putting commodities at risk.”

On Saturday, the IDF rejected the findings of the USAID report, saying it ignored “clear and explicit evidence that Hamas exploits humanitarian aid to sustain its fighting capabilities” and “goes so far as to criticize the IDF for routing decisions made specifically to protect humanitarian staff and shipments.”

“When the IDF directs aid deliveries along specific routes, it is based on the operational reality and intelligence assessments, aimed at safeguarding both the aid and the humanitarian actors — precisely the issue the report claims is not being addressed,” it said.

It went on, “The USAID report represents a striking example of biased framing. Instead of holding Hamas and other terror groups accountable for looting and obstructing aid from reaching the population, it assigns ‘indirect responsibility’ to Israel for the actions of armed militants and terror organizations.”

This story has been updated with additional information.

CNN’s Dana Karni contributed to this report.

Washington

An internal U.S. government analysis by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has found no evidence of widespread theft of U.S.-funded humanitarian aid by Hamas in Gaza. The findings challenge one of the key justifications given by Israel and the U.S. for backing a new, militarized private aid operation in the region.

The review, completed in late June by USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA), examined 156 incidents of theft or loss of aid between October 2023 and May 2024. According to a slide presentation reviewed by Reuters, the analysis found “no reports alleging Hamas” had benefited from the stolen supplies.

Despite this, a State Department spokesperson disputed the findings, claiming that video evidence exists of Hamas looting aid. However, no such evidence was provided, and the spokesperson further accused established humanitarian groups of concealing corruption.

The findings were shared with USAID’s inspector general and senior State Department officials. They come as Gaza faces a worsening humanitarian crisis, with nearly a quarter of its 2.1 million people experiencing famine-like conditions, according to the U.N.

The study also found that at least 44 of the 156 reported aid losses were directly or indirectly caused by Israeli military actions. Israel has not commented on these findings.

The U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a new private aid group using a for-profit logistics firm led by former U.S. military personnel, has come under criticism. The U.N. estimates Israeli forces have killed more than 1,000 people near GHF’s distribution sites.

The study acknowledged limitations, including the inability to fully vet aid recipients, leaving open the possibility that some aid may have reached Hamas officials. Still, no systematic diversion was documented. The war in Gaza, sparked by Hamas’s October 2023 attack, has killed nearly 60,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials.

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.

An internal U.S. government review found no proof of systematic theft of American aid by Hamas in Gaza, undermining the key justification for a proposed armed private aid operation backed by Israel and the U.S.

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 organisations between October 2023 and this May.

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

‘Aid Corruption’

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.”

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 Organisation and doctors in the enclave report starvation deaths of children and others.

Deadly Aid

The U.N. also estimates that Israeli forces have killed more than 1,000 people seeking food supplies, the majority near the militarised 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 programmes. 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.

‘Hamas Diverts Humanitarian Aid’

Israel, which controls access to Gaza, has said that Hamas steals food supplies from the U.N. and other organisations 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 have 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.

(With inputs from Reuters)

(WASHINGTON) — An analysis compiled by USAID officials examining more than 150 reported incidents involving the theft or loss of U.S.-funded humanitarian aid in the war-torn Gaza Strip says it failed to find any evidence that Hamas — the militant rulers of the Palestinian enclave — engaged in widespread diversion of assistance, according to a presentation reviewed by ABC News.

The findings of the report appear to undercut the Trump administration’s repeated claims that Hamas has regularly interfered with aid distribution in the past — assertions it has used to justify its support for the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) and for measures undertaken by Israel to limit the flow of assistance to neighboring Gaza through other pathways.

The GHF — with Israel’s approval and despite rejection from the United Nations — took over most of the aid distribution system in Gaza on May 27, after an 11-week Israeli blockade on all supplies from entering the strip. Israel has long accused Hamas of stealing aid provided by the U.N. — formerly the main distributor — and others to fund its militant activity — claims which Hamas denies.

Israel has allowed a limited amount of supplies into Gaza since lifting the blockade and, according to an Israeli security official, is “coordinating future airdrops of aid” by foreign countries “that are expected to take place in the coming days.” This comes after a coalition of more than 100 organizations warned this week that “mass starvation” is spreading in Gaza with “supplies now totally depleted.”

USAID officials behind the presentation say they analyzed alleged incidents of fraud, abuse and waste reported between October 2023, when the ongoing Israel-Hamas war began, and last May. It was compiled before the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) — once the world’s largest single donor of humanitarian aid — officially ceased independent operations on July 1. The Trump administration canceled more than 80% of the agency’s programs, while the remainder were absorbed by the U.S. Department of State.

USAID officials say their findings indicate that in the majority of cases involving the loss of aid, the perpetrator could not be definitively identified.

The Israel Defense Forces denied the report in a statement to ABC News, saying “not only does the report ignore clear and explicit evidence that Hamas exploits humanitarian aid to sustain its fighting capabilities, it goes so far as to criticize the IDF for routing decisions made specifically to protect humanitarian staff and shipments.”

The IDF added that when it “directs aid deliveries along specific routes, it is based on the operational reality and intelligence assessments, aimed at safeguarding both the aid and the humanitarian actors — precisely the issue the report claims is not being addressed.”

The State Department is also pushing back forcefully on the analysis.

A State Department spokesperson called it “astonishing” that “the media is busy debating whether the masterminds of Oct. 7 are somehow too principled to loot.”

“There is endless video evidence of Hamas looting, not to mention members of the aid-industrial complex who have admitted that looting exists by reporting it as ‘self-distribution,’ in a poor attempt at an aid corruption coverup,” the spokesperson said. “Available intelligence confirms what is reflected in open-source information: that a significant portion of non-GHF aid trucks have been diverted, looted, stolen, or ‘self-distributed.’”

Despite this, the Trump administration — a staunch ally of Israel — has provided no evidence of Hamas carrying out widespread aid diversion to date.

The IDF said it is “making tremendous efforts to enable the safe distribution of humanitarian aid under complex operational conditions.”

The ongoing Gaza war erupted after Hamas led a surprise terror attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people there and taking 251 others hostage, according to figures from the Israeli government. Since then, Israeli forces have killed more than 59,000 people in Gaza, according to data released by the strip’s Hamas-run Ministry of Health.

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