Israeli military official says there is no proof Hamas stole aid

An Israeli military official confirmed that there is no evidence that Hamas has been stealing aid, despite Israel accusing the Palestinian group of the allegation for almost two years and cutting resources to the enclave as a result.

Two senior military officials and two other Israelis involved in operations told reporters that there was nothing to prove Hamas routinely took supplies from the UN, and rather, the UN delivery system was effective despite Israeli claims that it wasn’t.

The comments come as over 123 Palestinians have been starved to death as Israel continues to implement a stifling blockade on the Strip, while millions of dollars’ worth of aid wait at the border, prevented from being allowed in.

The notorious Israel and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, responsible for killing over 1,000 hungry Palestinian aid-seekers since it started operations, took the place of UN agencies in the enclave after Israel accused Hamas of stealing aid.

This week, over 100 aid and rights groups made an urgent plea for Israel to allow aid into Gaza as starvation spreads rapidly, and children and the elderly become more vulnerable and susceptible to waterborne diseases.

Despite the scathing international criticism, Israel has ignored the condemnation, with ministers vowing to inhabit Gaza and expel the population, in contravention of international laws.

Israeli military officials who spoke to the New York Times reiterated that the original system of having UN agencies that have long worked in Gaza distribute aid was much more reliable.

They said it was also less vulnerable to any Hamas interference than any other operations bringing aid into Gaza.

The officials put this down to the UN managing its own supply chain and handling distribution directly inside Gaza.

The comments from the officials corroborate another internal US government analysis, which came to a similar conclusion and found no evidence of systematic theft from Hamas.

Georgios Petropoulos, a former U.N. official in Gaza who oversaw aid coordination with Israel said "for months, we and other organizations were dragged through the mud by accusations that Hamas steals from us".

Since March, Palestinians have gone without any vital aid, medicine, food, or baby formula, after Israel accused Hamas of stealing aid.

On the ground, healthcare workers and journalists are mixing sugar or salt with water to survive, while many civilians faint due to the lack of resources.

Despite the dire conditions, thousands of tonnes of aid stuck at the border were destroyed after it was left to rot there by Israel.

Some Israeli military officials have previously expressed concerns over the GHF's inability to effectively distribute aid, and contractors working for them opening fire at civilians; however, the government dismissed this.

At least 17,000 children suffer from malnutrition in Gaza currently, with deaths expected to accelerate rapidly if urgent assistance is not allowed in.

This comes as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres denounced what he called a "lack of humanity and compassion" for Palestinians in Gaza, which he said was a "moral crisis that challenges the global conscience".

The war on Gaza has killed over 59,676 people since October 2023, but the true death toll is believed to be much higher, with thousands of uncounted victims trapped under the rubble of destroyed buildings.