US Taxpayer Aid to Gaza Allegedly Diverted to Hamas, USAID OIG Investigates

As the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas continues, the USAID Office of Inspector General (USAID OIG) continues its investigation into allegations that U.S. taxpayer dollars were diverted to foreign terrorist organizations.

A U.S. diplomatic official briefed on the USAID OIG’s ongoing investigations told Fox News Digital that the OIG office “has received and continues to receive reports directly from aid workers and other parties on the ground that contradict the sanitized narrative that Hamas was never involved in the theft of U.S.-funded aid.” The official said reports are still “coming in from whistleblowers and aid workers who are fed up with the UN’s failure to identify Hamas as the culprit.”

The USAID OIG issued its first warnings about possible diversion of U.S. aid to Gaza in November 2023, noting that it was an “investigative priority to ensure that aid does not fall into the hands of foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs), including but not limited to Hamas.”

In a July 30 update, the USAID OIG said it was “investigating credible allegations of Hamas interference, diversion, and theft of humanitarian aid in Gaza, as well as allegations of smuggling into Gaza via humanitarian aid shipments.”

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Hamas signed on to President Donald Trump’s plan as IDF forces begin to withdraw from the enclave. (Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The United Nations has admitted that most of the aid it sent to Gaza after May 2025 was diverted by armed actors and starving Gazans. Yet the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Hamas was not responsible for widespread aid diversion.

In July, Reuters reported that a USAID analysis found little evidence of aid theft from Gaza by Hamas, which the State Department and White House disputed. White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told Reuters it “was likely produced by an agent of the deep state,” seeking to discredit President Donald Trump’s “humanitarian agenda.”

An American flag and a USAID flag fly in front of the USAID building in Washington, DC, United States, February 1, 2025. (Reuters/Annabelle Gordon)

More than half of USAID’s programs are for United Nations organizations. However, the USAID OIG reported in July 2024 that since October 2023, it had received “17 reports of alleged misconduct from five USAID-funded prime contractors”, only two of which were submitted by UN organizations.

The OIG also noted that UN organizations were exempt from USAID’s partner selection process, which “creates risk for USAID programs.”

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Hamas terrorists armed with batons and guns secured and hijacked humanitarian aid trucks in the Jabaliya area of ​​northern Gaza in June. 25 (TPS-IL)

The diplomatic source also reported witnessing UN duplicity regarding food deliveries to Gaza. The source attended Joint Coordinating Council meetings in which officials from the Israel Defense Forces, the U.S. military, U.S. aid organizations, the U.N. and the International Committee of the Red Cross had “deep, thorough and productive” discussions about aid deliveries and appeared to share “a sense of mission.”

“It was then shocking to read press releases from these same UN agencies the next day totally criticizing the Israeli government for its inability to coordinate the delivery of aid,” the official said.

Much of USAID OIG’s efforts since the outbreak of war following the Hamas attacks of October 7 have concerned Hamas’ infiltration of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

The office concluded an investigation in April 2025 that found three UNRWA members were linked to the October 7 attack and 14 others were affiliated with Hamas.

UNRWA had previously fired nine employees for their association with the attacks, according to reports.

In July, the USAID OIG said it was “unable to obtain from UNRWA” the names of staff it had laid off.

While Israel is blamed for Gaza’s hunger crisis, UN data shows that most of its aid is looted.

A U.S. Air Force Boeing C-17 Globemaster III prepares to unload its cargo as foreign aid intended for the Gaza Strip is delivered at El Arish International Airport December 5, 2023 in Arish, Egypt. (Ali Moustafa/Getty Images)

The diplomatic source said USAID OIG investigators “opened an independent investigation, obtaining information that UNRWA refused to provide through other sources and methods,” with the aim of ensuring “that UNRWA officials associated with Hamas do not recirculate to other U.S. taxpayer-funded organizations operating in Gaza,” the official said.

The chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Rep. James Comer, Republican of Kentucky, has opened an investigation into the participation of UNRWA personnel in the Oct. 7 attacks, which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,200 Israelis and 32 Americans and the taking hostage of 251 people.

In an open letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres dated October 27, Comer requested unredacted copies of a report from the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) on UNRWA’s participation in the deadly attack and requested correspondence and other details about personnel who were investigated for their possible roles.

Comer noted that the United States provides 22 percent of the UN’s general budget, 40 percent of its humanitarian budget and 25 percent of its peacekeeping budget, in addition to providing $343 million in 2022 and $422 million in 2023 to UNRWA. “The requested documents and communications are necessary to verify that no United Nations entity or NGO receiving funds from U.S. taxpayers employs individuals affiliated with or supporting terrorist entities,” Comer said.

Stéphane Dujarric, a spokesperson for Guterres, told Fox News Digital that the UN was “sharing information with the United States government on the issues raised in the letter.” We are currently reviewing the committee’s request and intend to respond with relevant information.” Dujarric said he “would not say anything further publicly at this time.”

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William Deere, director of the UNRWA Representative Office in Washington, DC, told Fox News Digital that “the United Nations provided the USAID IG with an unredacted copy of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) investigation report months ago. appointed staff “in the interests of the Agency”, to protect UNRWA’s ability to provide humanitarian assistance. »

Deere asserted that “unfortunately, since then, the Israeli government has failed to provide the United States, the United Nations, or UNRWA with information and evidence that could support its allegations against UNRWA employees.” Significantly, the Israeli government has also failed to take action against any of the individuals named in its own justice system. for information in these cases.

Mohammad Abu Itiwi during the October 7 massacre. Hamas commander Nukhba was involved in the killing and kidnapping of Israeli civilians on October 7 and, according to the Israeli military, was simultaneously employed by UNRWA. (IDF Spokesperson’s Unit)

The US diplomatic official familiar with the UNRWA investigation disputes the UN assertion that Hamas members do not remain on UNRWA’s payroll, saying that “Maybe ‘some’ of the October 7 terrorists have been fired, but UNRWA continues to employ Hamas members, there is no doubt about it. They are a Hamas affiliate.”

A report released Monday by the Washington Free Beacon said a confidential copy of the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) report on the participation of UNRWA members in the October 7 attack purported to show that OIOS had dismissed evidence provided by Israeli intelligence about intercepted calls between Hamas personnel and UNRWA personnel as “probably genuine” but “insufficient” evidence of cooperation to support the dismissal of 10 additional UNRWA employees. Additionally, the report states that the UN “did not investigate ties to Hamas beyond its participation in the October 7 attacks.”

Richard Goldberg, senior advisor to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital that “UNRWA was Hamas in Gaza.

“We also need to dismantle the entire agency in the context of deradicalization,” Goldberg said. “October 7 will continue to happen as long as UNRWA exists. The Trump plan will fail where UNRWA is present. Arab countries make peace with Israel. UNRWA is still fighting the 1948 war.”

Military vehicles gather near the Israel-Gaza border as part of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, southern Israel, October 12, 2025. (Ammar Awad/Reuters)

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The USAID OIG confirmed that its “investigations into Hamas-affiliated UNRWA officials are active and ongoing and are aimed at preventing the recirculation of terrorists to other US-funded organizations operating in Gaza.”

In response to questions about whether the State Department used the USAID OIG report on UNWRA members’ participation in the October 7 attacks, a spokesperson told Fox News Digital that “generally speaking, the department does not comment on internal or investigative reports, or on actions that might be considered.”