Aid operations in Gaza imperiled as millions of promised USAID dollars
do not arrive
[March 07, 2025]
By JULIA FRANKEL
JERUSALEM (AP) — The Trump administration’s cuts to USAID have frozen
hundreds of millions of dollars in contractual payments to aid groups,
leaving them paying out of pocket to preserve a fragile ceasefire,
according to officials from the U.S. humanitarian agency.
The cutbacks threaten to halt the small gains aid workers have made
combatting Gaza’s humanitarian crisis during the Israel-Hamas ceasefire.
They also could endanger the tenuous truce, which the Trump
administration helped cement.
USAID was supposed to fund much of the aid to Gaza as the ceasefire
progressed, and the Trump administration approved over $383 million on
Jan. 31 to that end, according to three USAID officials.
But since then, there have been no confirmed payments to any partners in
the Middle East, they said. The officials, who have survived multiple
rounds of furloughs, spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of
retribution.
Two senior officials at aid organizations confirmed they have not
received any of the promised funds, after spending millions of dollars
on supplies and services. They said they could not afford to continue
aid operations indefinitely.
Some organizations have already reported laying off workers and scaling
down operations, according to internal USAID information shared with the
AP.
That could imperil the ceasefire, under which Hamas is supposed to
release hostages held in Gaza in exchange for Israel releasing
Palestinian prisoners and ramping up the entry of humanitarian
assistance.
“The U.S. established very specific, concrete commitments for aid
delivery under the ceasefire, and there is no way ... to fulfill those
as long as the funding freeze is in place,” said Jeremy Konyndyk,
president of Refugees International and a former USAID official.
USAID has been one of the biggest targets of a broad campaign by
President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government
Efficiency, or DOGE, to slash the size of the federal government.
USAID payments frozen, some NGOs scale down Gaza response
Before Trump took office, USAID had roughly $446 million to disperse to
partner organizations in Gaza in 2025, the USAID officials said.
But after Trump froze global foreign assistance, USAID’s Gaza team had
to submit a waiver to ensure the funds for Gaza aid could continue to
flow. They received approval Jan. 31 to secure over $383 million in
funding, less than two weeks after the U.S.-brokered ceasefire was
reached.
Some $40 million was subsequently cut under a measure that no money be
provided for aid in the form of direct cash assistance.
USAID then signed contracts with eight partner organizations, including
prominent NGOs and U.N. agencies, awarding them money to flood supplies
and services into Gaza. Then, the officials said, they began hearing
that organizations were not receiving the promised payments — even as
they had already spent millions, expecting USAID reimbursement.
Some of those organizations are now spending less and scaling back
programs.
The International Medical Corps, a global nonprofit that provides
medical and development assistance, was awarded $12 million to continue
operations at two hospitals in Gaza. These include the largest field
hospital in Gaza, whose construction was funded by USAID at the request
of the Israeli government, according to internal USAID information.
It has now requested payback of over $1 million, said one USAID
official, adding that the freeze has forced the organization to lay off
some 700 staff members and offer only basic services at the hospitals,
with a skeletal crew.
A former IMC staffer, who quit citing lack of stability, said the
program providing life-saving treatment for malnutrition was almost
frozen for lack of funds. The former staffer, who spoke on condition of
anonymity to discuss the organization’s details, said the current
nutrition services were at a minimum level.
[to top of second column]
|
Palestinians queue to purchase bread outside a bakery in Gaza City,
Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Meanwhile, termination letters severing the contracts between USAID
and Gaza partners were also sent out to organizations that were
major providers of shelter, child protection and logistical support
in the Gaza aid operation, a USAID official said.
Some of the termination letters seen by the AP were signed by new
USAID deputy chief Peter Marocco — a returning political appointee
from Trump’s first term. They instruct organizations to “immediately
cease” all activities and “avoid additional spending chargeable to
the award,” citing a directive from Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
USAID Gaza response in crisis as truce is tenuous
In addition to the spending freeze, officials say USAID has been
wracked by internal chaos and the introduction of arbitrary
regulations since the new administration took office.
During the first 42-day phase of the ceasefire, Israel had to allow
at least 600 trucks of aid into Gaza a day, as well as 60,000
temporary homes and 200,000 tents.
Two USAID officials said the agency was originally supposed to buy
400 temporary homes that would make it into Gaza by the end of Phase
1 of the deal, and over 5,200 more during the next phase. That
figure has since been slashed to just over 1,000.
USAID was never able to purchase the mobile homes because of
newly-imposed policies requiring extra approvals for procurements.
On Feb. 2, some 40% of the Gaza team was locked out of their email
accounts and software necessary to track awards, move payments and
communicate with the organizations. An email sent immediately
following the lockout came from Gavin Kliger, a DOGE staffer.
Access to the servers has now been restored, the officials said, but
the team is smaller after waves of layoffs. From an original team of
about 30 people, only six or seven remain.
Very few mobile homes entered Gaza during Phase 1 of the ceasefire,
which ended last week, prompting Hamas to accuse Israel of violating
the truce.
Israel has cut off all aid shipments into Gaza in a bid to pressure
Hamas to accept an extension of the ceasefire. That has sent aid
groups scrambling to distribute reserves of food and shelter to the
most needy. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he is considering
cutting off electricity to raise the pressure on Hamas.
With USAID in flux, the U.S. risks losing its influence, said Dave
Harden, the former USAID assistant administrator of Democracy,
Conflict and Humanitarian Aid and a longtime director of the
agency’s work in the Palestinian territories.
“U.S. aid assistance to Palestinians ... never, ever equated to U.S.
assistance to Israel, never quite balanced, but always gave us a
seat at the table, always helped us to have real discussions with
both the Palestinians and the Israelis about what the future might
hold,” Harden said.
Now, he said, “We’re just simply not at the table in a meaningful
way, and so I think the ceasefire is fragile.”
___
AP correspondents Josef Federman in Jerusalem, Sarah El Deeb in
Cairo and Ellen Knickmeyer in Washington contributed reporting.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
