#hamas corruption

Voices from Gaza - Episode 1

Regarding humanitarian aid that arrives and is administered by Hamas, unfortunately, this aid isn't distributed fairly. It's distributed in a partisan way: only Hamas members get the aid.

We've even witnessed this aid being sold in the market - though it arrives in boxes marked "not for sale." This aid comes to us for free from sources that want to help the Palestinian people. How can you put it up for sale?

When you ask the shopkeepers, they say, "No, we bought it from Hamas. We paid them for it. We're just trying to recoup the money we paid Hamas."

With respect to healthcare, Hamas families get preferential treatment. They get medical attention before everyone else. If someone else needs an operation, it could be delayed for a long time so that Hamas loyalists are treated first. A lot of people suffer from this.

To be candid, Hamas has utterly wrecked the Palestinian people. They even practice extortion.

So we call on the outside world: if you want to help the Palestinian people, do so through international channels that do not in any way run through Hamas, which caused our people to be besieged and deeply troubled.

I hope our voice will reach the outside world.

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by Andrew Bernard

The UN agency responsible for Palestinian refugees on Monday said that it had received reports that Hamas had seized humanitarian supplies from a UN compound in Gaza City before backtracking and deleting all references to the accusation.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in a statement said that fuel and medical supplies were seized from the compound, which they had evacuated on 13 Oct.

“UNRWA received reports this morning that yesterday a group of people with trucks, purporting to be from the Ministry of Health of the de facto authorities (DFA) in Gaza, removed fuel and medical equipment from the Agency’s compound in Gaza City,” UNRWA said. “UNRWA’s fuel and other types of material are kept for strictly humanitarian purposes, and any use of such assets for any other purposes is strongly condemned.”

“De facto authorities” is a term frequently used by the UN to refer to the Hamas terrorist group that controls the Gaza strip. The Gaza-based Palestinian Ministry of Health is likewise controlled by Hamas.

After posting the statement on their website and on social media on Monday, UNRWA then deleted the statement without explanation.

UNRWA’s deleted statement charging Hamas with seizing aid from its Gaza City compound.

UNRWA did not immediately respond to The Algemeiner’s request for comment about why they withdrew the statement.

A social media account run by Israel’s Foreign Ministry on Monday called out the deletion as an example of UNRWA’s overly-close relationship with the terrorist group responsible for the 7 Oct. massacre of more than 1,400 people in Israel.

“Wait UNRWA – Did Hamas also break into your Twitter account?  Or are you just scared of disappointing your terrorist friends?” the @Israel account posted on X/Twitter.

Past UNRWA statements about Hamas’ violations of the agency’s facilities have shown indications that the agency is unwilling to risk Hamas’ ire. In November, UNRWA issued a statement saying it found a “man-made cavity” under one of its schools in Gaza, which it had “protested strongly to the relevant authorities in Gaza” without saying who exactly those authorities might be or what they might have intended to do with their terror tunnel. In 2021 UNRWA’s Gaza director, Matthias Schmale, was replaced after he conceded that Israel’s airstrikes were “very precise” and they did not hit civilian targets, albeit with “some exceptions.” In a meeting with Hamas’ Yahya Sinwar, Schmale’s replacement called those comments “indefensible” and “affirmed her solidarity with the Palestinians.” Israel has named Sinwar as one of the chief architects of the 7 Oct. slaughter.

In past conflicts in Gaza, Hamas has been regularly accused by Israel and by human rights groups of illegally exploiting UNRWA facilities, including schools, to launch rockets, store munitions, and to otherwise shield the terrorist group.