UN under fire as USAID investigators probe Hamas diversion of aid to Gaza

As the ceasefire betwixt Israel and Hamas continues to play out, the USAID Office of the Inspector General (USAID OIG) pursues its probe into allegations of U.S. payer dollars being diverted to overseas violent organizations.

A U.S. diplomatic authoritative briefed connected USAID OIG’s ongoing investigations told Fox News Digital that the OIG’s bureau "received and continues to person reports straight from assistance workers and different parties connected the crushed that counters the sanitized communicative that Hamas was ne'er progressive successful the theft of American funded aid." The authoritative reported that reports are inactive being "sent successful by whistleblowers and assistance workers who are fed up with the U.N.’s nonaccomplishment to place Hamas arsenic the culprit."

USAID OIG issued its archetypal warnings astir the imaginable diversion of American assistance to Gaza successful Nov. 2023, noting that it was an "investigative precedence to guarantee that assistance does not autumn into the hands of overseas violent organizations (FTOs), including, but not constricted to, Hamas."

In a July 30 update, USAID OIG reported that it was "investigating credible allegations of Hamas interference, diversion, and theft of humanitarian assistance successful Gaza, arsenic good arsenic allegations of smuggling contraband into Gaza done humanitarian assistance shipments."

EXCLUSIVE: WHISTLEBLOWER ALLEGES MISCONDUCT BY UNITED NATIONS IN GAZA

Hamas has signed onto President Donald Trump's program arsenic IDF forces commencement withdrawing from the enclave. (Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The United Nations has admitted that astir of the assistance it sent into Gaza aft May 2025 was diverted by equipped actors and bare Gazans. Yet the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has stated that Hamas was not liable for wide assistance diversion.

In July, Reuters reported that a USAID investigation recovered small grounds of Hamas theft of Gaza aid, thing the State Department and the White House disputed. Anna Kelly, a White House spokesperson, told Reuters that it "was apt produced by a heavy authorities operative," seeking to discredit President Donald Trump's "humanitarian agenda."

An American emblem and USAID emblem alert extracurricular the USAID gathering successful Washington, D.C., U.S., February 1, 2025. (REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon)

Over fractional of USAID programming is obligated to U.N. organizations. However, the USAID OIG reported successful July 2024 that since October 2023, it had received "17 reports of alleged misconduct from 5 USAID-funded implementers," lone 2 of which were submitted by U.N. organizations.

The OIG besides noted that U.N. organizations were exempt from USAID’s spouse vetting process, which "creates hazard to USAID’s programs."

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Hamas terrorists carrying clubs and firearms unafraid and divert humanitarian assistance trucks successful the bluish Gaza country of Jabaliya connected June. 25. (TPS-IL)

The diplomatic root besides reported seeing U.N. duplicity implicit nutrient deliveries into Gaza firsthand. The root attended Joint Coordination Board meetings wherever officials from the Israel Defense Forces, U.S. Army, U.S. assistance organizations, the U.N. and the International Committee of the Red Cross had "robust, extensive, and productive" discussions astir assistance deliveries and appeared to stock "a consciousness of mission."

"It was shocking past to work property releases by those aforesaid U.N. agencies, the precise adjacent time wholly body-slamming the authorities of Israel for failing to coordinate transportation of aid," the authoritative said.

Much of the USAID OIG’s effort since the outbreak of warfare pursuing Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks has acrophobic Hamas’ infiltration of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees successful the Near East (UNRWA).

The bureau concluded an probe successful April 2025 that recovered 3 UNRWA members were connected with the Oct. 7 onslaught and different 14 were affiliates of Hamas.

UNRWA antecedently fired 9 employees for their relation with the attacks, according to reports.

In July, USAID OIG reported being "unable to get from UNRWA" the names of the unit it fired.

AS ISRAEL FACES BLAME FOR THE HUNGER CRISIS IN GAZA, UN'S OWN DATA SHOWS MOST OF ITS AID IS LOOTED

A United States Air Force Boeing C-17 Globemaster III prepares to unload its cargo arsenic overseas assistance intended for the Gaza Strip is delivered astatine El Arish International Airport connected Dec. 5, 2023 successful Arish, Egypt. (Ali Moustafa/Getty Images)

The diplomatic root said that the USAID OIG investigators "opened an autarkic investigation, obtaining accusation that UNRWA refused to supply done different sources and methods," with the extremity of ensuring "that UNRWA officials associated with Hamas bash not recirculate to different U.S. taxpayer-funded organizations operating successful Gaza," the authoritative said.

Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., has begun an probe into UNRWA unit information successful the Oct. 7 attacks, which led to implicit 1,200 Israelis and 32 Americans being killed and 251 radical taken hostage.

In an unfastened missive to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres dated Oct. 27, Comer requested unredacted copies of a U.N. Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) study into UNRWA information successful the deadly onslaught and asked for correspondence and different details astir unit who were investigated for their imaginable roles.

Comer noted that the U.S. provides 22% of the U.N.’s wide budget, 40% of its humanitarian fund and 25% of its peacekeeping budget, successful summation to providing $343 cardinal successful 2022 and $422 cardinal successful 2023 to UNRWA. "The requested documents and communications are required for verification that nary U.N. entity oregon NGO receiving American payer funds employs individuals affiliated with oregon supporting violent entities," Comer said.

Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for Guterres, told Fox News Digital that the U.N. has been "sharing accusation with the United States authorities connected matters raised successful the letter. We are presently considering the committee’s petition and mean to respond with applicable information." Dujarric said helium would "not accidental thing much publically astatine this time."

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William Deere, manager of the UNRWA Representative Office successful Washington, D.C., told Fox News Digital that "the United Nations provided the USAID IG with an unredacted transcript of the U.N. Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) probe study months ago. To suggest accusation is being withheld from the U.S. is simply disingenuous. Following the authorities of Israel’s archetypal allegations successful January of 2024 of imaginable UNRWA unit misconduct, Commissioner-General Lazzarini instantly terminated the appointments of the named unit ‘in the involvement of the Agency,’ to support UNRWA’s quality to present humanitarian assistance."

Deere claimed that, "regrettably, since that clip the authorities of Israel has failed to supply the United States, the United Nations, oregon UNRWA with the accusation and grounds that would substantiate its claims against UNRWA employees. Significantly, the authorities of Israel has besides failed to instrumentality enactment against immoderate of the named individuals successful their ain judicial system. The grounds is clear, UNRWA investigates each assertion brought to it of imaginable worker misconduct, arsenic evidenced by the aggregate requests the bureau has made to the Israeli authorities for the accusation successful these cases."

Mohammad Abu Itiwi during the October 7 Massacre. The Hamas Nukhba commandant was progressive successful the execution and abduction of Israeli civilians connected October 7th and, according to the IDF was simultaneously employed by UNRWA. (IDF Spokesman's Unit)

The U.S. diplomatic authoritative acquainted with UNRWA’s probe disputes the U.N.’s assertion that members of Hamas bash not stay connected UNRWA’s payroll, saying that "Perhaps ‘some’ of the Oct. 7 terrorists were removed, but UNRWA continues to employment Hamas members, determination is nary question. They are a subsidiary of Hamas."

A study connected Monday by the Washington Free Beacon said a confidential transcript of the U.N. Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) study connected UNRWA members’ information successful the Oct. 7 onslaught claimed to amusement that OIOS dismissed the grounds provided by Israeli quality of intercepted calls betwixt Hamas unit and UNRWA unit arsenic "likely authentic" but "insufficient" impervious of practice to enactment the firing of 10 further UNRWA employees. Additionally, the study said that the U.N. "did not analyse ties to Hamas extracurricular information successful the Oct. 7 attacks."

Foundation for Defense of Democracies Senior Advisor Richard Goldberg told Fox News Digital that "UNRWA was Hamas successful Gaza. It remains a panic and radicalization menace elsewhere. When Israel banned UNRWA successful Gaza, it was rapidly replaced by different U.N. agencies and NGOs. UNRWA proved neither indispensable nor irreplaceable — a prevarication repeated by many."

"We besides request to dismantle the full bureau successful the discourse of deradicalization," Goldberg said. "Oct. 7 volition support happening again and again truthful agelong arsenic UNRWA exists. The Trump program volition neglect wherever UNRWA is present. Arab countries are making bid with Israel. UNRWA is inactive waging the warfare of 1948."

Military vehicles are gathered adjacent the Israel-Gaza border, amid a ceasefire betwixt Israel and Hamas, successful confederate Israel connected Oct. 12, 2025. (Ammar Awad/Reuters)

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USAID OIG confirmed that its "investigations of UNRWA officials affiliated with Hamas are progressive and ongoing, and intended to forestall the recirculation of terrorists to different U.S.-funded organizations operating successful Gaza."

In effect to questions astir whether the State Department had utilized the USAID OIG study connected UNRWA members’ information successful Oct. 7 attacks, a spokesperson told Fox News Digital that "As a wide matter, the section does not remark connected interior oregon investigative reports, nor connected actions that whitethorn beryllium nether consideration. UNRWA was complicit successful Oct. 7 and is unfit for purpose. Our argumentation is that it volition not play a relation successful Gaza again."