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Hamas Steals Aid — But The New York Times and Wall Street Journal Blame Israel
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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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War

Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests

A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan

Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.