Senior Israeli military officials told the New York Times they never found proof that Hamas systematically stole humanitarian aid from the United Nations in Gaza – contradicting claims by the Israeli government that formed the basis for blocking aid deliveries for months.
According to two senior IDF officers and two other Israelis involved in the matter, the UN’s aid distribution system, which Israel had criticized and sought to replace, was “largely effective in providing food to Gaza’s desperate and hungry population.”
ies for months.
According to two senior IDF officers and two other Israelis involved in the matter, the UN’s aid distribution system, which Israel had criticized and sought to replace, was “largely effective in providing food to Gaza’s desperate and hungry population.”
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“For nearly two years, Israel has accused Hamas of stealing aid,” the report states, adding that “the government has used that claim as its main rationale for restricting food from entering Gaza.”
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Hamas did steal from some smaller aid groups that lacked on-the-ground oversight, but “there was no evidence that Hamas regularly stole from the United Nations, which provided the largest chunk of the aid.”
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“For months, we and other organizations were dragged through the mud by accusations that Hamas steals from us,” said Georgios Petropoulos, a former UN official in Gaza who oversaw aid coordination with Israel during the war.
The Times also reported that an internal U.S. government analysis reached a similar conclusion, finding “no evidence of systematic Hamas theft of U.S.-funded humanitarian supplies,” according to Reuters.
In March, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed: “Hamas is currently taking control of all supplies and goods entering Gaza,” and Israel subsequently blocked all food and supplies for nearly two months. The military later warned of rising hunger, prompting a policy shift in May.
The army had pushed back against plans to fully replace the UN with a U.S.-run private operation – the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (known as GHF) – raising concerns about access and civilian safety. The Times reported that nearly 1,100 Palestinians have been killed attempting to reach aid since the new system launched, “in many cases by Israeli soldiers who opened fire on hungry crowds.”
The IDF told the Times it has “well-documented” instances of Hamas exploiting humanitarian aid to fund terrorism, but did not dispute the assessment that there was no evidence of routine theft from the UN.