The USAID Office of the Inspector General (OIG) is pursuing allegations that U.S. taxpayer dollars sent to the Gaza Strip are being diverted to Hamas, raising serious concerns about the integrity of humanitarian aid distribution. According to a U.S. diplomatic official briefed on the OIG’s investigation, reports from aid workers and whistleblowers indicate that the United Nations has failed to address widespread allegations of Hamas involvement in the theft of American-funded aid. These claims contradict U.N. statements that have repeatedly denied Hamas’s role in the diversion of aid, despite evidence suggesting otherwise.
The OIG has been investigating these concerns since November 2023, with recent updates highlighting continued allegations of Hamas interference, diversion, and smuggling of contraband through aid shipments. In July, the OIG reported that it was actively investigating credible claims of Hamas involvement in aid diversion, emphasizing the need to ensure that U.S. assistance does not fall into the hands of foreign terrorist organizations. The investigation has also extended to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), with findings indicating ties between several of its staff and the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
The U.N. has acknowledged that most of the aid it sent into Gaza after May 2025 was diverted by armed actors and hungry Gazans, yet it has maintained that Hamas was not responsible for the widespread diversion. This stance has sparked debates about transparency and accountability in international aid efforts. In July, Reuters reported that a USAID analysis found little evidence of Hamas theft of Gaza aid, a claim that the State Department and the White House disputed. The White House reportedly dismissed the report as an attempt to discredit President Donald Trump’s humanitarian agenda, underscoring the politicization of the issue.
A U.S. diplomatic source reported seeing U.N. duplicity over food deliveries into Gaza firsthand, noting that while there were ‘robust, extensive, and productive’ discussions during Joint Coordination Board meetings, the same U.N. agencies issued press releases condemning Israel for failing to coordinate aid deliveries the very next day. This contradiction has further fueled skepticism about the U.N.’s integrity in the crisis.
The OIG’s investigations have also focused on UNRWA, with findings indicating that three UNRWA members were connected to the Oct. 7 attacks and another 14 were affiliated with Hamas. Despite UNRWA firing nine employees for their association with the attacks, the OIG has been unable to obtain the names of those fired, raising doubts about the agency’s transparency. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has begun an investigation into UNRWA staff participation in the Oct. 7 attacks, with Rep. James Comer requesting unredacted copies of U.N. Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) reports and information about staff investigated for their possible roles.
Stéphane Dujarric, a U.N. spokesperson, stated that the U.N. is considering the committee’s request and intends to respond with relevant information, though he declined to make further public comments. UNRWA’s director in Washington, D.C., Daniel Deere, claimed that the U.N. provided the USAID OIG with an unredacted copy of the OIOS investigation report and that Israeli claims of UNRWA staff misconduct were unfounded. However, U.S. officials dispute this, arguing that UNRWA continues to employ Hamas members, with one official stating that the agency is effectively a subsidiary of Hamas.
The issue has drawn significant attention from watchdog groups and former officials, with Foundation for Defense of Democracies Senior Advisor Richard Goldberg calling UNRWA a ‘terror and radicalization threat elsewhere.’ He argued that UNRWA’s existence has enabled recurring conflicts like the Oct. 7 attack and that its removal from Gaza was quickly replaced by other U.N. agencies and NGOs, demonstrating its lack of indispensability. These arguments have fueled calls for the agency’s dismantling as part of broader efforts to deradicalize the region.
As the OIG continues its investigations, the focus remains on ensuring that humanitarian aid in Gaza is not being used to support terrorist activities while also addressing the U.N.’s role in the crisis. The U.S. has maintained that UNRWA is unfit for purpose and will not play a role in Gaza again, signaling a broader shift in U.S. foreign policy toward more direct oversight and accountability in humanitarian efforts.