The Hamas has profited from humanitarian aid by at least $500 million since the start of the war, a veteran analyst at the at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy has said.
This view is supported by Israel’s domestic security agency, Shin Bet, which has said Hamas diverts at least 60 per cent of the goods entering Gaza for their own purposes.
The Washington Institute’s Ehud Yaari told Israel’s Channel 12 last week that, according to a calculation he made, Hamas has earned “no less” than half a billion dollars from the aid.
“We provide [this] for them,” said the Arab affairs analyst, adding: “We need to start creating reality, instead of this fruitless discussion about what will happen the ‘day after’ [the war with Hamas ends].”
The IDF has been fighting Hamas since the terror group launched a war against the Jewish state on October 7.
Despite the ongoing conflict, Israel has repeatedly stressed that “there are no limits on the amount of humanitarian aid that can enter Gaza.”
The volume of aid provided to the hostile territory has more than doubled since the start of the war, according to data provided by the government to Israel’s Supreme Court in response to a petition by left-wing groups.
A $320 million floating pier built by the United States military on the shore of the Gaza Strip became operational over the weekend, with trucks starting to deliver humanitarian supplies in large volumes.
The Israel Defence Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) unit announced on Saturday that “hundreds of pallets of humanitarian aid” and some 160,000 litres of fuel entered via the pier.
Meanwhile, COGAT has approved the resumption of commercial trade with the Strip on Thursday, with truck deliveries starting the following morning, Israel’s Walla! News outlet reported on Sunday.
According to the report, 150 trucks loaded with produce from Israel – not aid – crossed into Gaza intended for merchants who purchased the produce “intended for Hamas members and the civilian population.”
