Is there any proof that Hamas steal and resell the aid?
Executive summary
Publicly available, reputable U.S. government reporting does not provide proof that Hamas systematically steals and resells U.S.-funded humanitarian aid in Gaza, but multiple intelligence claims, local reports and journalistic investigations allege diversion and resale in varying degrees — and critics warn that monitoring gaps and political agendas complicate any definitive finding [1] [2] [3] [4] [5].
1. What the U.S. internal analysis found — no evidence of systematic theft of U.S.-funded supplies
An internal USAID review examined 156 reported incidents of theft or loss of U.S.-funded humanitarian supplies between October 2023 and May 2025 and concluded it found “no reports alleging Hamas” benefited from those U.S.-funded supplies, a finding summarized in a slide deck seen and reported by Reuters and picked up by CBC [1] [2]. That analysis was cited by multiple outlets as undercutting the U.S. and Israeli justification for new armed, private aid operations into Gaza [1].
2. Israeli and military sources maintain a contrary account — claims of diversion and embedded seizures
Israeli military officials have repeatedly said their intelligence documents incidents in which militants seized cargoes “both covertly and overtly,” and Israeli estimates cited in reporting have claimed diversion rates as high as 25 percent in some assessments — figures that the IDF and other Israeli security outlets continue to use to argue that aid is being exploited to finance terrorism and control civilians [6] [7] [8]. The IDF has showcased footage and statements framing Hamas as looting aid, and senior Israeli officials say there are “well-documented” instances of exploitation even as some Israeli military sources told foreign press they found no proof of routine theft from the UN specifically [8] [3].
3. Independent and regional reporting that alleges diversion and resale
Several journalistic reports, including a BBC piece later summarized by The Times of Israel and other outlets, describe Hamas using secret cash reserves and diverted goods to pay employees and loyalists, and claim significant portions of aid were grabbed and sold on black markets at inflated prices during particular periods — those reports rely on unnamed Gazan sources and local witnesses rather than on open forensic audits [4]. Other outlets and commentators have also reported anecdotal or intelligence-based allegations that aid has been taxed, resold or used to reward loyalty, adding a strand of evidence that is suggestive but not systematized in public documentation [4] [7].
4. Why the record is messy — monitoring limitations, reporting disincentives and political uses of claims
Analysts caution that counting theft in an active conflict zone is fraught: USAID’s methodology relied on partner NGOs to self-report incidents, a process critics say undercounts theft when organizations fear reprisals, want to preserve operating space under Hamas control, or lack on-the-ground verification capacity [5]. At the same time, governments and militaries use allegations of diversion to justify policy choices — for instance, backing alternative aid delivery models — which creates an incentive to emphasize or publicize intelligence claims even when the underlying data are not shared publicly [1] [5].
5. Verdict: what can be stated with confidence and what remains unsettled
Based on the publicly reported USAID internal analysis, there is no documented proof in U.S. government materials that Hamas systematically stole U.S.-funded humanitarian supplies across the reviewed incidents; that is a clear, source-backed claim [1] [2]. Conversely, credible actors — Israeli military sources, some local reporting and later investigative pieces — have produced allegations and anecdotal accounts that significant diversion and resale occurred in some periods or from some consignments, but these accounts as presented in open reporting rely on intelligence assessments, unnamed local sources, or footage rather than transparent, independently verifiable audits that link stolen goods directly to Hamas-controlled resale operations at scale [3] [4] [8]. Given documented monitoring gaps and competing political agendas highlighted by media critics, the public record supports the conclusion that systematic, proven large-scale theft by Hamas of U.S.-funded aid has not been demonstrated in the available U.S. internal review, while credible allegations and local reporting indicate diversion and resale may have occurred in specific cases or periods but lack the forensic public proof needed to settle the question definitively [1] [5] [4].