Fact check: What percentage of aid to Gaza is allegedly stolen by Hamas?

1. Why the headline “Percent Stolen” Took Hold — and Why It’s Misleading

Public and political discourse often seeks a single percentage to summarize corruption or diversion, but the available government review does not provide a single, high percentage attributing aid losses to Hamas. A U.S. government review examined 156 incidents and concluded less than one percent of USAID‑funded humanitarian assistance was affected by loss, theft, diversion, fraud, or waste, and it found no sign of systematic theft by Hamas ^{[5] [1]}. Repeating an unspecified “percent stolen by Hamas” compresses complex incident‑level findings into a misleading sound bite and ignores the differing definitions and scopes used by analysts ^[2].

2. What the U.S. Analyses Actually Found — Details Matter

USAID’s July 2025 analysis and related U.S. government reviews examined incidents between October 2023 and May 2025 and concluded they found no evidence of large‑scale, organized diversion of U.S. humanitarian aid by Hamas, documenting 156 incidents with many losses tied to other causes. The reviews attributed at least 44 incidents of lost or stolen supplies directly or indirectly to Israeli military activity, with Israeli forces responsible in a substantial share of cases, further undermining claims that Hamas was the primary thief of U.S. aid ^{[2] [5] [1]}. These findings challenge policy arguments used to justify alternate, militarized aid routes ^[5].

3. Independent Reporting and NGO Accounts — Convergence and Tensions

Investigative outlets and aid groups on the ground reported tensions between claims and evidence: The New York Times and other outlets published Israeli assertions that Hamas diverted aid, while aid agencies working in Gaza disputed those claims and cited operational obstacles, not systematic diversion, as the main problem. An analysis of media coverage found repetition of unsubstantiated Israeli claims even as UN and NGO sources emphasized that the UN delivery system remained largely effective and large‑scale theft was not demonstrated ^{[3] [6]}. This divergence reflects both different access to incidents and differing incentives for public statements ^[4].

4. Quantifying Losses — What “Less Than 1 Percent” Means in Practice

The U.S. review’s figure of under one percent affected by theft, loss, diversion, fraud, or waste applies to USAID‑funded supplies within the period studied and does not imply zero problems; the review still documented dozens of incidents and identified 28 percent of incidents where the Israeli military was directly or indirectly responsible for lost U.S. aid. Thus, the under‑one‑percent figure must be read alongside incident counts and causal attributions: a small percentage by volume can still mask serious localized harm and operational failures that affect civilian access ^{[1] [2]}.

5. How Policy Narratives Used These Claims — Political Stakes Explained

Israeli and some U.S. officials have used allegations of diversion to justify alternatives to UN‑led distributions, such as new private or armed operations. The U.S. analyses undercut the central factual premise behind those proposals by finding no evidence of systematic Hamas theft; critics argue the narrative served to legitimize militarized models of aid delivery. Media outlets that repeated the theft claims without noting the government review’s findings contributed to public confusion and may have influenced policy debates ^{[5] [3]}.

6. Key Uncertainties and What Remains Unreported

The reviews are bounded by timeframes, funding streams, and access limitations; they focused on USAID‑funded supplies and incident reports up to May 2025. They do not fully capture all aid channels, private transfers, or undocumented local diversions, nor do they resolve every contested incident. Independent observers caution that the lack of systematic evidence against Hamas does not equate to absence of any diversion across all actors, and ongoing monitoring is required to detect localized illegal activity or evolving patterns ^{[5] [7]}.

7. Bottom Line for Readers Seeking a Single Number

There is no credible, evidence‑based percentage showing that a large share of Gaza aid is stolen by Hamas; U.S. government reviews placed losses of USAID‑funded aid at under one percent and found no systemic theft by Hamas, while documenting many incidents attributable to Israeli military actions and operational failures ^{[1] [2]}. Claims of a high percentage stolen by Hamas should be treated as unsubstantiated unless they cite verifiable incident reporting and a clear methodology matching the scope of these official reviews ^{[3] [6]}.