The Trump administration has formally determined that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) cannot be reformed and must be dismantled entirely due to its extensive ties to Hamas and failure to prevent aid theft, according to a State Department notification to Congress.
The administration’s assessment represents a complete loss of faith in the UN agency following mounting evidence that UNRWA employees participated in Hamas’s October 7, 2023, terrorist attacks and continue to enable the terror group’s control over Gaza’s humanitarian aid system.
An internal UN investigation confirmed that at least nine UNRWA staffers “likely or very likely” participated directly in the October 7 attacks that killed over 1,200 Israelis. Israeli intelligence indicates the problem extends far deeper, with 85% of aid entering Gaza by truck since May 19 has been stolen, according to UN data.
The scope of Hamas infiltration became clear when the terror group’s commander in Lebanon, killed in an Israeli airstrike, was revealed to be both head of the UNRWA teachers’ union and a school principal. Another UNRWA employee photographed participating in the October 7 massacre was later killed while driving a UN vehicle.
Intelligence assessments suggest that at least 12 percent of all U.N. employees in Gaza are members of Hamas or other terrorist organizations, with many Hamas members directly driving aid trucks themselves.
The Trump administration’s decision stems from evidence that UNRWA’s aid distribution system has become a critical tool for Hamas to maintain power and prolong the conflict. The terrorist group steals food aid meant for ordinary Gazans and resells it on the black market, generating revenue while controlling the population through artificial scarcity.
Gaza residents have witnessed this systematic theft firsthand. “Fifty trucks arrived yesterday at warehouses in Gaza City, and Hamas stole all of the aid,” Moumen Al-Natour, a 30-year-old lawyer in Gaza, told the Washington Free Beacon. “Hamas has unfortunately been able to infiltrate the mechanism of the United Nations for a long time.”
This theft creates a vicious cycle where Hamas profits from selling stolen aid on Gaza’s black market while using starvation as a weapon against civilians who oppose them. “There is some hunger in Gaza, and it exists only in places Hamas is pursuing it, not in other areas,” said Professor Eytan Gilboa.
The terror group’s insistence on maintaining UNRWA’s role demonstrates the agency’s strategic value to Hamas operations. In recent ceasefire negotiations, Hamas specifically demanded that UNRWA retake control of all humanitarian aid networks in Gaza, replacing the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation that has been operating with greater security measures.
This demand provided additional evidence to the Trump administration that UNRWA serves Hamas’s interests rather than Gaza’s civilian population. “UNRWA exists to provide cover for Hamas,” a senior State Department official said. “They are completely corrupt and should be disbanded.”
The United Nations has actively opposed alternative aid distribution mechanisms that could bypass Hamas control. UN stresses adherence to principles of neutrality and independence in delivering life-saving humanitarian aid to Gaza, yet this “neutrality” effectively enables Hamas theft. At the same time, it has also faced criticism from the United Nations and aid groups for a lack of independence from Israel, which backs the organization along with the U.S.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, established with U.S. and Israeli backing, has distributed over 85 million meals in under two months, demonstrating that alternative mechanisms can effectively deliver aid. However, the UN has consistently called for a return to the UN-led delivery mechanism despite evidence of widespread corruption and theft under UNRWA’s system.
The Biden administration initially suspended UNRWA funding after Israeli allegations emerged, joined by several other donor countries. While some nations later resumed funding after a disputed report that Israel rejected, Congress has maintained its funding freeze.
The State Department notification to Congress indicates that, despite requesting the return of unspent U.S. funds in March, UNRWA has failed to comply. “An April 8, 2025, letter, signed by the UNRWA Washington Field Office Director, indicated UNRWA would do so but has not yet completed this action,” the State Department noted.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has ordered all U.S. personnel to cease participation in UNRWA-related UN working groups, formally isolating the agency from American diplomatic engagement.
The Trump administration’s determination that UNRWA is “irredeemably compromised” signals a fundamental shift in how the United States approaches Palestinian aid. Rather than attempting to reform an agency that has enabled Hamas control for years, the administration seeks to dismantle it entirely and establish alternative mechanisms that terrorist organizations cannot exploit.
This approach, recognizing UNRWA’s role in perpetuating Hamas control over Gaza’s civilian population, represents a significant obstacle to peace. By maintaining artificial scarcity through aid theft while generating revenue from black market sales, Hamas uses the current system to sustain its war effort while blaming Israel for civilian suffering.
The administration’s assessment suggests that genuine humanitarian aid to Gaza requires dismantling the structures that enable Hamas exploitation, even if international organizations resist such changes in the name of “neutrality” that effectively serves terrorist interests.