UK humanitarian aid to Gaza scrutinized after document allegedly warns of links to Hamas-controlled ministry

Yahoo

01-06-2025

A newly surfaced U.K. government document has raised fresh concerns over British-funded humanitarian aid to Gaza, suggesting officials were aware of the risk funds might indirectly support Hamas. the terrorist group that governs the Gaza Strip.
While U.K. officials strongly deny the claim, critics say key questions remain unanswered.
The document, dated November 2022 and obtained by NGO Monitor, outlines the U.K.'s humanitarian strategy in the occupied Palestinian territories. One section references a UNICEF-administered cash assistance program in Gaza coordinated with the Ministry of Social Development (MoSD).
The NGO Monitor report claims, "The MoSD in Gaza is affiliated with the de facto authorities and thus U.K. Aid can be linked directly or indirectly with supporting the de facto authority in Gaza (Hamas), which is part of a proscribed group."
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The group's report also claimed the British consulate-general in Jerusalem, which reportedly authored the document, assessed this as a "reputational" risk, raising concerns not of legality, but of public perception if the arrangement were to be revealed.
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Anne Herzberg, legal advisor at NGO Monitor, told Fox News Digital the phrasing is significant.
"This is what was most shocking to us," she told Fox News Digital. "The government clearly acknowledged the risk that U.K. taxpayer funds could reach Hamas, but they were more concerned about how it might look than the real danger of supporting terrorism."
Herzberg explained NGO Monitor uncovered the Foreign Office document, originally published in November 2022, during an extensive investigation into humanitarian aid flows in Gaza.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, the U.K.'s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) categorically denied any funding reached Hamas-controlled bodies.
"We categorically reject these allegations. The U.K. does not fund Hamas-run agencies in Gaza," an FCDO spokesperson stated. "The UNICEF program is coordinated with the Ministry of Social Development in Ramallah, which is run by the Palestinian Authority. U.K. funding was provided through UNICEF directly to vulnerable households in Gaza."
The FCDO stressed that Hamas is a proscribed terrorist organization under U.K. law, "and funding or supporting it is a crime." It further noted that the U.K. conducted a due-diligence assessment of UNICEF and tracks the path of funding to its final civilian recipients.
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But Herzberg said the November 2022 document — alongside UNICEF's own March 2024 update celebrating its "strengthened partnership with the Ministry of Social Development" in Gaza — points to deeper inconsistencies.
Yona Schiffmiller, the director of research at NGO Monitor, told Fox News digital, "The U.K. document clearly refers to the Gaza-based MoSD. If the program was only coordinated with Ramallah, it's unclear why Gaza-specific risks were flagged."
UNICEF's March 2024 report states that over 540,000 Gazans received support after the Oct. 7 attacks, adding the partnership with the MoSD "helped ensure access to the social registry and resulted in targeting the most vulnerable families." NGO Monitor points out that the MoSD in Gaza is led by Ghazi Hamad, a Hamas politburo member sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in 2024.
Herzberg said the report claims "this aid diversion was central in Hamas' preparations for the October 7th massacre, including the construction of tunnels and other military installations, and stockpiling supplies and resources. After thousands of terrorists invaded Israel and committed mass atrocities, Hamas continued to commandeer aid, creating and taking advantage of a black market."
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"Even after Oct. 7 and all we've been seeing ... they still refuse to deal with this question of diversion," Herzberg claimed. "There's no transparency, no oversight, and the U.N. is actively trying to thwart Israeli, U.S. and other allied efforts in trying to improve the humanitarian aid situation."
She was referring to the recent U.S.-backed initiative to establish a new aid distribution system in Gaza that started operating Monday.
The NGO Monitor report further details how the MoSD is run by senior Hamas officials, including Ghazi Hamad, who publicly praised the Oct. 7 massacre and was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in November 2024. Another top MoSD figure, Mohammed Al-Araeer, has repeatedly glorified terrorist attacks on social media and praised Hamas commanders.
A recent investigation by Israel's website, "Shomrim," and Israel's Channel 12 revealed that Hamas has built an extensive fundraising network inside the U.K. Senior Hamas operatives with British citizenship have established charitable foundations that raise millions of pounds annually, some of which ends up in the hands of the group's military wing.
Udi Levi, formerly head of the Counter-Terror Financing Division in the Mossad, told Israel's Channel 12, "Britain is becoming the central country transferring funds to Hamas, including after Oct. 7."
The watchdog also raised broader concerns about the role of other U.N. agencies in Gaza, noting at least 12 are active in the Strip. Herzberg said it remains unclear whether similar diversion risks exist across those agencies.
"We all know how UNRWA has been taken over by Hamas, but what about the others? Is the same thing happening there? These are the types of questions no one is willing to answer," she said.
The controversy unfolds against the backdrop of heightened diplomatic tensions. Last month, the U.K. suspended trade negotiations with Israel, citing humanitarian concerns. Foreign Secretary David Lammy criticized the Israeli government's actions in Gaza and called for restored aid and electricity.
NGO Monitor says the debate highlights the urgent need for a new international mechanism to oversee aid delivery in Gaza, one that bypasses Hamas-controlled institutions and ensures civilian aid is protected from exploitation.
"The issue isn't just legal compliance — it's moral responsibility," Herzberg said. "Western donors should be taking every precaution possible. So far, that hasn't been the case."Original article source: UK humanitarian aid to Gaza scrutinized after document allegedly warns of links to Hamas-controlled ministry