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Hamas Steals Aid — But The New York Times and Wall Street Journal Blame Israel
Col. Richard Kemp at humanitarian aid site with Gazans. Photo: Provided
The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal have recently reported on starvation in Gaza, blaming Israel and all but absolving the terrorist group Hamas. But this ignores the reality on the ground, and only helps Hamas spin its narrative.
In the Times report, “No Proof Hamas Routinely Stole U.N. Aid, Israeli Military Officials Say,” reporter Natan Odenheimer claims:
… the Israeli military never found proof that the Palestinian militant group had systematically stolen aid from the United Nations, the biggest supplier of emergency assistance to Gaza for most of the war, according to two senior Israeli military officials and two other Israelis involved in the matter. (NYT, July 26, 2025)
For starters, the Times headline would have been less deceptive if it had read “Some Israeli Officials Say,” because there is no doubt that other senior Israeli military officials would have strongly disagreed.
In fact, at the behest of senior IDF officials, the IDF website has a special section titled The UNRWA-Hamas Connection, which includes numerous reports filled with conclusive evidence proving that UNRWA (the main UN body in Gaza that distributes aid) is essentially an arm of Hamas.
Hamas freely uses UNRWA facilities for its terrorist purposes (with only sporadic and perfunctory objections from the UN), and many UNRWA officials and workers are either closely associated with Hamas or are actual members of Hamas. UNRWA workers even took part in the October 7, 2023, mass terrorist attack on Israel.
In other words, Odenheimer’s core claim that Israel has presented no proof that Hamas stole aid from the United Nations is both inaccurate and nonsensical, since Hamas can’t, in effect, steal from itself. Taking control of UNRWA aid, appropriating some for its own use, controlling its distribution to civilians, and selling the rest to shopkeepers are basics in Hamas funding of its operations and control of the Gaza population.
In support of his claims Odenheimer cited a Reuters report based on a USAID study, noting:
An internal U.S. government analysis came to [a] similar conclusion, Reuters reported on Friday. It found no evidence of systematic Hamas theft of U.S.-funded humanitarian supplies, the report said.
This is more deception. Odenheimer omitted key points from the Reuters report, including 1) that the State Department disputed USAID’s conclusions and “accused traditional humanitarian groups of covering up ‘aid corruption,’’’ 2) that “because Palestinians who receive aid cannot be vetted, it was possible that U.S.-funded supplies went to administrative officials of Hamas,” and 3) that “The majority of incidents [of theft or diversion] could not be definitively attributed to a specific actor … Partners often largely discovered the commodities had been stolen in transit without identifying the perpetrator.”
Thus, contrary to Odenheimer’s claims, the details of the Reuters report did not exonerate Hamas at all.
Whatever the facts, it seems that Odenheimer and his Times colleagues will do journalistic backflips to deflect blame from Hamas and onto Israel.
Unfortunately, the news pages of The Wall Street Journal are no better, as exemplified in its July 24 story “More Children Starve in Gaza Food Crisis.”
Accompanied by a large photo of Palestinians carrying bags of flour, it all but concealed the reality that Hamas disrupts and exploits humanitarian aid for its own purposes and bears major responsibility for the hunger in Gaza, burying a dismissive reference to any such notion in the 13th paragraph. Thus, the emotive story about a reported increase in child starvation avers, only in passing, “Israel and Arab intelligence officials say the group [Hamas] steals aid and uses it to fund its war effort, which it denies.”
That was all — a nothing line surrounded by personal accounts of Palestinian suffering. The reference to both Israel and “Arab intelligence” could have cued the story’s reporters, Feliz Solomon, Abeer Ayyoub, and Summer Said, to investigate and report seriously on the issue.
Both Arabs and Israelis agree Hamas is stealing aid to fuel the war. Why bury that critical statement?
In an account largely blaming Israel for starving children — in fact, more children than ever — where are Journal news editors to demand full coverage by their reporters on this story? The publication trumpets its professional commitment to its readers this way: “Trust is a precious thing and …we are responsible for earning the trust of our readers every day. We are committed to providing the tools needed to help differentiate high-quality, fact-based news and analysis from misinformation.”
Omission and obfuscation of key information such as the Journal story focused on hungry children is “misinformation” that can radically mislead readers.
The opinion pages of the Journal are, as is well known, different from the news side that tilts against Israel almost daily, often presenting key factual information. Thus on July 25, an op-ed by Yasser Abu Shabab entitled “Gazans Are Finished With Hamas” described conditions in eastern Rafah where he and his Bedouin tribe have gained ascendance over Hamas, leading to greatly improved conditions in which people “all live without fear of Hamas stealing aid…”
This matter-of-fact observation underscored the common understanding about the role of Hamas in manipulating aid that The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal strain to conceal.
Until recently, Andrea Levin was Executive Director and President of CAMERA, and Alex Safian PhD, was Associate Director and Research Director.
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Security Warning to Israelis Vacationing Abroad Ahead of holidays
A passenger arrives to a terminal at Ben Gurion international airport before Israel bans international flights, January 25, 2021. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – Ahead of the Jewish High Holidays, Israel’s National Security Council (NSC) published the latest threat assessment to Israelis abroad from terrorist groups to the public on Sunday, in order to increase the Israeli public’s awareness of the existing terrorist threats around the world and encourage individuals to take preventive action accordingly.
The NSC specified that the warning is an up-to-date reflection of the main trends in the activities of terrorist groups around the world and their impact on the level of threat posed to Israelis abroad during these times, but the travel warnings and restrictions themselves are not new.
“As the Gaza war continues and in parallel with the increasing threat of terrorism, the National Security Headquarters stated it has recognized a trend of worsening and increasing violent antisemitic incidents and escalating steps by anti-Israel groups, to the point of physically harming Israelis and Jews abroad. This is in light of, among other things, the anti-Israel narrative and the negative media campaign by pro-Palestinian elements — a trend that may encourage and motivate extremist elements to carry out terrorist activities against Israelis or Jews abroad,” the statement read.
“Therefore, the National Security Bureau is reinforcing its recommendation to the Israeli public to act with responsibility during this time when traveling abroad, to check the status of the National Security Bureau’s travel warnings (before purchasing tickets to the destination,) and to act in accordance with the travel warning recommendations and the level of risk in the country they are visiting,” it listed, adding that, as illustrated in the past year, these warnings are well-founded and reflect a tangible and valid threat potential.
The statement also emphasized the risk of sharing content on social media networks indicating current or past service in the Israeli security forces, as these posts increase the risk of being marked by various parties as a target. “Therefore, the National Security Council recommends that you do not upload to social networks, in any way, content that indicates service in the security forces, operational activity, or similar content, as well as real-time locations.”
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Israel Intensifies Gaza City Bombing as Rubio Arrives
Displaced Palestinians, fleeing northern Gaza due to an Israeli military operation, move southward after Israeli forces ordered residents of Gaza City to evacuate to the south, in the central Gaza Strip September 14, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Israeli forces destroyed at least 30 residential buildings in Gaza City and forced thousands of people from their homes, Palestinian officials said, as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived on Sunday to discuss the future of the conflict.
Israel has said it plans to seize the city, where about a million Palestinians have been sheltering, as part of its declared aim of eliminating the terrorist group Hamas, and has intensified attacks on what it has called Hamas’ last bastion.
The group’s political leadership, which has engaged in on-and-off negotiations on a possible ceasefire and hostage release deal, was targeted by Israel in an airstrike in Doha on Tuesday in an attack that drew widespread condemnation.
Qatar will host an emergency Arab-Islamic summit on Monday to discuss the next moves. Rubio said Washington wanted to talk about how to free the 48 hostages – of whom 20 are believed to be still alive – still held by Hamas in Gaza and rebuild the coastal strip.
“What’s happened, has happened,” he said. “We’re gonna meet with them (the Israeli leadership). We’re gonna talk about what the future holds,” Rubio said before heading to Israel where he will stay until Tuesday.
ABRAHAM ACCORDS AT RISK
He was expected to visit the Western Wall Jewish prayer site in Jerusalem on Sunday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and hold talks with him during the visit.
US officials described Tuesday’s strike on the territory of a close US ally as a unilateral escalation that did not serve American or Israeli interests. Rubio and US President Donald Trump both met Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani on Friday.
Netanyahu signed an agreement on Thursday to push ahead with a settlement expansion plan that would cut across West Bank land that the Palestinians seek for a state – a move the United Arab Emirates warned would undermine the US-brokered Abraham accords that normalized UAE relations with Israel.
Israel, which blocked all food from entering Gaza for 11 weeks earlier this year, has been allowing more aid into the enclave since late July to prevent further food shortages, though the United Nations says far more is needed.
It says it wants civilians to leave Gaza City before it sends more ground forces in. Tens of thousands of people are estimated to have left but hundreds of thousands remain in the area. Hamas has called on people not to leave.
Israeli army forces have been operating inside at least four eastern suburbs for weeks, turning most of at least three of them into wastelands. It is closing in on the center and the western areas of the territory, where most of the displaced people are taking shelter.
Many are reluctant to leave, saying there is not enough space or safety in the south, where Israel has told them to go to what it has designated as a humanitarian zone.
Some say they cannot afford to leave while others say they were hoping the Arab leaders meeting on Monday in Qatar would pressure Israel to scrap its planned offensive.
“The bombardment intensified everywhere and we took down the tents, more than twenty families, we do not know where to go,” said Musbah Al-Kafarna, displaced in Gaza City.
Israel said it had completed five waves of air strikes on Gaza City over the past week, targeting more than 500 sites, including Hamas reconnaissance and sniper sites, buildings containing tunnel openings and weapons depots.
Local officials, who do not distinguish between militant and civilian casualties, say at least 40 people were killed by Israeli fire across the enclave, a least 28 in Gaza City alone.
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Turkey Warns of Escalation as Israel Expands Strikes Beyond Gaza
Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a press conference with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (not seen) at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey, May 13, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Umit Bektas
i24 News – An Israeli strike targeting Hamas officials in Qatar has sparked unease among several Middle Eastern countries that host leaders of the group, with Turkey among the most alarmed.
Officials in Ankara are increasingly worried about how far Israel might go in pursuing those it holds responsible for the October 7 attacks.
Israel’s prime minister effectively acknowledged that the Qatar operation failed to eliminate the Hamas leadership, while stressing the broader point the strike was meant to make: “They enjoy no immunity,” the government said.
On X, Prime Minister Netanyahu went further, writing that “the elimination of Hamas leaders would put an end to the war.”
A senior Turkish official, speaking on condition of anonymity, summed up Ankara’s reaction: “The attack in Qatar showed that the Israeli government is ready to do anything.”
Legally and diplomatically, Turkey occupies a delicate position. As a NATO member, any military operation or targeted killing on its soil could inflame tensions within the alliance and challenge mutual security commitments.
Analysts caution, however, that Israel could opt for covert measures, operations carried out without public acknowledgement, a prospect that has increased anxiety in governments across the region.
Israeli officials remain defiant. In an interview with Ynet, Minister Ze’ev Elkin said: “As long as we have not stopped them, we will pursue them everywhere in the world and settle our accounts with them.” The episode underscores growing fears that efforts to hunt Hamas figures beyond Gaza could widen regional friction and complicate diplomatic relationships.