Hamas stealing aid meant for woment= and children
Executive summary
Available reporting shows contested claims about Hamas stealing humanitarian aid in Gaza: a Reuters review of 156 U.S.-funded loss/theft reports found “no reports alleging Hamas” benefited from those supplies [1], while later video and government statements cite incidents of looting captured on drone footage and alleged diversion for loyalists [2] [3]. International organisations, U.S. agencies and local actors offer sharply different accounts about who is diverting aid and why [1] [4] [5].
1. What the U.S. internal review actually said — and did not say
A leaked USAID slide deck and Reuters reporting show a U.S. analysis of 156 self-reported incidents of theft or loss of U.S.-funded supplies between October 2023 and May 2025 concluded there were “no reports alleging Hamas” benefited from those specific U.S.-funded supplies [1]. The Reuters story frames that finding as limited to partner organizations’ self-reports and the narrow dataset reviewed, not as a categorical exoneration of all actors or all aid streams [1].
2. Newer operational footage and public accusations
U.S. Central Command released drone video showing people looting an aid truck in Khan Younis; U.S. officials and commentators described the footage as evidence of Hamas or Palestinian actors seizing supplies and undermining deliveries [2] [6]. U.S. political figures amplified that material; CENTCOM and U.S. officials presented the footage as proof of looting that “deprives the people of Gaza of humanitarian aid” [2] [6].
3. Local, U.N. and regional narratives clash
Local Gaza authorities and Hamas-run communications have rejected U.S. claims, calling the CENTCOM footage and similar allegations a “systematic disinformation campaign” and arguing such claims misrepresent frontline realities and target Gaza police and volunteers [5] [7]. The U.N. and some aid organizations have repeatedly denied systematic diversion by Hamas in the contexts cited by U.S. internal reviews, according to Reuters and other reporting referenced in the dataset [1] [8].
4. Independent media and investigative reporting present mixed evidence
Major outlets and broadcasters have published divergent findings: the BBC reported that Hamas was using a secret cash stockpile and diverting significant portions of aid to loyalists or the black market, citing unnamed Gazan sources [3]. Ynet presented newly released recordings alleging Hamas operatives fired on an aid hub to seize supplies [9]. The New York Times and Reuters both noted longstanding Israeli accusations and that independent proof of routine, widespread Hamas theft has not been conclusively documented in the public record covered by their reporting [8] [1].
5. Why these different accounts can all exist at once
The evidence base is fragmented: some datasets cover only U.S.-funded supplies and partner self-reports [1]; other items rely on drone footage, anonymous witnesses, or intelligence claims [2] [3]. Aid flows pass through multiple checkpoints, contractors, local distributors and black‑market channels, creating many points where diversion can occur or be alleged; different reporters and actors examine different slices of that system [1] [3] [9].
6. Motives, incentives and the politics of proof
Accusations of theft serve political ends: Israeli and U.S. officials have used allegations to justify changes in aid modalities and security-heavy delivery models, while Hamas and Gaza authorities denounce those accusations as attempts to delegitimize local administration and restrict humanitarian access [8] [5]. Media outlets and thinkpieces note that agencies operating inside Gaza face pressure to avoid direct attribution when safety or access could be jeopardized — a dynamic the USAID OIG memo highlighted as a challenge to accountability [10].
7. What is provable today — and what remains disputed
Provable in available reporting: the USAID slide review of 156 incidents did not record reports alleging Hamas benefited from U.S.-funded supplies [1]; drone footage released by U.S. military sources shows people looting an aid truck and was presented publicly as evidence of diversion [2]. Disputed or unresolved in the cited sources: whether Hamas has “systematically” or “routinely” stolen U.N. or other non-U.S. aid at scale [1] [8] [3], and how much diversion is perpetrated by Hamas versus other armed groups, opportunistic locals, or market actors [11].
8. How to read future claims
Scrutinize the data slice being cited (U.S.-funded vs. total aid; self-reports vs. surveillance footage), demand chain-of-custody details, and watch for competing incentives: governments may amplify intelligence or footage that supports policy shifts, while local authorities may denounce the same material as propaganda [1] [2] [5]. Independent verification across agencies and transparent methodology will be decisive for credible conclusions; current reporting shows serious allegations and some direct footage, but no single, uncontested accounting of large-scale, systematic Hamas theft across all aid flows [1] [2] [3].