Aid groups in Gaza are facing devastating financial losses after US President Donald Trump slashed humanitarian budgets, raising fears that a fragile ceasefire could end and a bloody war could resume.
US President Donald Trump's brutal humanitarian aid cuts have frozen hundreds of millions of dollars in contract payments to organisations working in Gaza, risking lives.
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) says millions of dollars in aid have been cut because of the measures, threatening the fragile peace in the Palestinian region. USAID had planned to fund most of the aid for Gaza during the cease-fire, and the Trump administration approved more than $383 million on Jan. 31. But none of its Middle East partners have received verified payments since then, they said, and officials have quietly reported the threat out of fear of repercussions.
Two senior aid officials confirmed that they had not received promised funds after spending millions of dollars on supplies and services. They said they could not continue humanitarian operations indefinitely. Some organizations have already been forced to lay off staff and scale back their programs, according to internal USAID information shared with reporters. That could jeopardize the cease-fire, which requires Hamas to release hostages held in Gaza in exchange for Israel releasing Palestinian prisoners.
Jeremy Konyndyk, president of Refugees International and a former USAID official, said: “The US has made specific aid commitments under the ceasefire, and there is no way… to deliver on them while the funding freeze continues.” USAID has been a key target of Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Effectiveness (DOGE) in a broader campaign to cut spending. Before Trump took office, USAID had about £346 million to distribute to partners in Gaza until 2025, agency officials said.
But after the global foreign aid freeze, USAID’s Gaza team had to submit a waiver to ensure that aid money for Gaza kept flowing. They received approval on January 31 to provide millions more in funding, less than two weeks after the US-brokered ceasefire was reached. Around £30 million was subsequently cut under a measure that the money should not be provided as direct cash aid.
USAID then signed contracts with eight partner organizations, including prominent NGOs and UN agencies, funding them to deliver goods and services to Gaza. But officials said they learned that the organizations were not receiving promised payments – even though they had already spent millions waiting for reimbursement from USAID. Some of these organizations began cutting spending and programs. The International Medical Corps was given £10 million to continue operating two hospitals in Gaza.
Now he has asked for more than $1 million in refunds, a USAID official said, adding that the funding freeze had forced the organization to lay off about 700 employees. Israel has halted all aid deliveries to Gaza in an attempt to pressure Hamas to agree to an extended cease-fire. That has forced aid groups to rush to distribute food and shelter supplies to those most in need. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he is considering cutting off electricity to increase pressure on Hamas.
Sourse: www.mirror.co.uk
