Foreign
Donald Trump: We identified and stopped $50 million being sent to Gaza to buy condoms for Hamas

According to The New Arab, U.S aid experts and relief agencies have dismissed former President Donald Trump’s claim that the US spent $50 million on condoms for Gaza, calling it a baseless accusation used to justify controversial aid cuts.

“We identified and stopped $50 million being sent to Gaza to buy condoms for Hamas, Trump stated during a press conference, alleging that the militant group repurposed the supposed shipments for bomb-making.

The claim was met with widespread criticism and ridicule, as Trump provided no evidence to support his remarks.
According to a report from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), no condoms were sent to Gaza or any Middle Eastern country since 2019.
The only recorded family planning contribution in the region was a small shipment of contraceptives worth $45,680 sent to Jordan in 2023.
Humanitarian organizations, including International Medical Corps, have emphasized the real use of US aid in Gaza. Since October 7, 2023, $68 million of USAID funding has supported two field hospitals providing lifesaving care in the territory.
“No U.S government funding was used to procure or distribute condoms, the organization clarified in a statement.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt doubled down on Trump’s claims, attributing the discovery of the alleged spending to the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by tech billionaire Elon Musk. Experts, however, dismissed these assertions as implausible.
Matthew Kavanagh, director of Georgetown University’s Center for Global Health Policy and Politics, criticized the statement as obviously untrue, noting that a $50 million expenditure would equate to over a billion condoms an illogical allocation of resources.
Jeremy Konyndyk, president of Refugees International, echoed this sentiment, stating, “What’s going on is that the bros at DOGE apparently can’t read (government) spreadsheets.
Trump’s claim also gained traction among some conservative voices, with Fox News host Jesse Watters suggesting that Hamas used the non-existent US shipments for “condom bombs. This idea was quickly debunked by experts.
Following his return to office, Trump has imposed a 90-day freeze on foreign aid, vowing to review spending to align with his administration’s policies, including opposition to abortion and diversity programs.
Critics argue that this move misrepresents humanitarian aid programs to justify halting lifesaving assistance globally.
“What seems clear is the administration is taking a large grant to support healthcare infrastructure in Gaza and mischaracterizing it to justify dangerous cuts, Kavanagh warned.
The aid freeze excludes emergency food and military assistance to Egypt and Israel, as confirmed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. However, experts caution that such policies risk undermining critical humanitarian efforts.
