Progress Despite Hamas Stealing Aid

Speaking in Saudi Arabia on Monday morning, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States has seen “measurable progress” in the humanitarian situation in Gaza over the past few weeks. But he urged Israel to do more.

Yet UN representatives continue to appeal for much more aid to be delivered, and there is little recognition that the “measurable progress” in the situation represents the result of a major effort by the Israelis in the face of continuing theft of aid by Hamas.

Reports of aid being stolen by Hamas have appeared for some months now, with aid trucks seized by armed men almost as soon as they enter the Gaza Strip.

And now the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) has published a translation of an April 4th interview on the Palestinian Awda TV channel with Ramzi Awda, Secretary General of International Campaign to Combat the Occupation and Apartheid.

In it he says that as much as 60 to 70 percent of the aid going into Gaza is being stolen by Hamas. It is taken to warehouses controlled by various small groups who are in turn controlled by Hamas. That aid is then sold to the Gazan people at exorbitant prices.

Hamas profiting from stealing humanitarian aid should prompt outrage around the world. Yet there seems to be silence on that issue and a continual stream of accusations made against Israel for limiting aid supplies.

Here is the MEMRI clip: