The U.S. accused Hamas of seizing a major shipment of humanitarian aid delivered to Gaza this week. The supplies were the first to be shipped from Jordan to the Palestinian enclave through a newly reopened border crossing authorized by Israel.
President Biden pushed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza through the Erez crossing. On Wednesday, convoys from Jordan delivered the first major shipment over the new land route.
“The convoys from the Jordanian military that brought the aid in unloaded the aid in Gaza. It was then picked up by a humanitarian implementer for distribution inside Gaza,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Thursday. “That aid was intercepted and diverted by Hamas on the ground in Gaza.”
He said it was the first “widespread” case of humanitarian aid diversion that the U.S. has seen in Gaza since the Israel-Hamas war started after the Palestinians’ Oct. 7 slaughter of Israelis.
“The U.N. is either in the process or has by now recovered that aid. But it was an unacceptable act by Hamas to divert this aid to begin with,” Mr. Miller said. “We have made it clear that it’s an unacceptable act, (and) I think the U.N. partners will be also making clear that it’s an unacceptable act.”
He said Hamas could jeopardize future humanitarian relief to the people of Gaza by diverting it for its own use rather than letting it reach innocent civilians who need it.
“They certainly should refrain from doing that in the future,” Mr. Miller said.