House Republicans Investigating Whether US Taxpayer-Funded Humanitarian Projects Are Helping Hamas

Republican lawmakers are investigating whether U.S. aid for Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank has made its way into the hands of Hamas.

Humanitarian aid trucks arriving from Egypt after having crossed through the Rafah border crossing arriving at a storage facility in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, on Oct. 21, 2023. Belal Al Sabbagh/AFP via Getty Images

Republican lawmakers are investigating whether U.S. aid for Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank has made its way into the hands of Hamas, which the United States has designated a terrorist organization.

According to records obtained by Republicans on the House Oversight Committee, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) cut its funding for the Palestinian regions from about $286 million in fiscal 2017 to about $18 million in fiscal 2020. Under President Donald Trump’s leadership, USAID also discontinued its funding support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East.