Which specific U.S. aid disbursements to Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and Gaza were actually paid out after the 2025 USAID freeze?
Executive summary
After the January 2025 USAID freeze, publicly available U.S. disclosures and reporting show a narrow set of exemptions and releases rather than a wholesale resumption of payments: listed security-related disbursements for Taiwan and limited security materiel for Ukraine were exempted, Israel and Egypt received policy waivers for major military financing, and a handful of humanitarian amounts for Gaza were specifically released — but large swaths of humanitarian and development funding remained paused or cancelled [1] [2] [3].
1. Ukraine — small, security‑focused payouts, not broad humanitarian disbursements
Reporting indicates the post‑freeze exemptions for Ukraine were narrowly targeted and modest compared with pre‑freeze flows: Reuters identified more than $21.5 million exempted for body armor and armored vehicles for Ukraine’s national police and border guards, suggesting limited security materiel payments continued while broader USAID development and humanitarian work was ordered to stop [1] [2]. At the same time, USAID officers working on Ukraine programs were reportedly told to stop all work, and the exemptions list did not include many humanitarian programs for Ukraine — implying most non‑security USAID disbursements remained halted [2] [1].
2. Israel — large military financing continued via waivers while congressional packages predate freeze
The freeze explicitly exempted longstanding military financing for Israel through statutory waivers, and prior congressional action had already authorized large security supplemental funds: congressional packages in 2024 allocated billions for Israel and the region, and the administration’s memo made exceptions for military assistance to Israel and Egypt, meaning those major military flows were treated as allowable despite the broader pause [4] [5] [2]. Reporting shows the administration issued waivers for Israel (and Egypt) even as other aid streams were suspended, though granular post‑freeze disbursement ledgers are not fully public in the cited reporting [2] [3].
3. Taiwan — substantial security exemption recorded, focused on defense programs
Reuters’ exemptions list included approximately $870 million for programs in Taiwan, classifying those funds as security exemptions and therefore permitted after the freeze; this indicates significant defense‑oriented disbursements were carved out while civilian development and many humanitarian programs faced suspension [1]. The broader package that Congress approved in 2024 also earmarked Indo‑Pacific and Taiwan security assistance, but the reporting ties the $870 million specifically to post‑freeze exemptions [4] [1].
4. Gaza — limited humanitarian amounts released, but most aid networks affected
Contrary to narratives of a blanket halt on life‑saving Gaza aid, Reuters reports that USAID exempted $78 million for non‑food humanitarian assistance in Gaza and separately released $56 million for the International Committee of the Red Cross tied to the ceasefire deal, signaling targeted humanitarian disbursements were allowed even amid the broader pause [1]. However, other reporting and expert warnings described the freeze as suspending many humanitarian programs worldwide and raised alarm about suspended nutrition, health and vaccination work, underscoring that these Gaza exemptions were narrow and did not restore the full scope of pre‑freeze assistance [2] [1].
5. What is confirmed, what remains uncertain, and the political contours
The confirmed facts in public reporting are that specific security and narrowly framed humanitarian items were exempted and released — notably $870 million for Taiwan security programs, ~$21.5 million for Ukrainian police armor, $78 million non‑food Gaza assistance, and $56 million to ICRC — while larger humanitarian and development portfolios were largely stopped or left off the exemptions list [1] [2]. What cannot be fully verified from these sources is the complete list of actual cash flow transactions after the freeze, the timing of payments at Treasury accounting detail, or whether other exemptions existed but were not disclosed; critics argue the policy selectively preserved geopolitical security ties while inflicting heavy damage on broader humanitarian programs, an interpretation advanced by affected USAID staff and outside experts [1] [2]. Both the administration’s stated rationale (prioritizing security assistance and waivers for Israel/Egypt) and the humanitarian community’s warnings about cascading program failures appear in the record, making the exemptions list an incomplete but authoritative snapshot of which disbursements were permitted after the freeze [2] [1].