Israel has long restricted or completely blocked aid to Gaza on the argument that Hamas steals it to use as a weapon of control over the population.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher has demanded that Israel provide evidence for its accusations that staff with the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs were affiliated with Palestinian militants Hamas, according to a letter seen by Reuters on Friday.

In May, Trump secured the release of Edan Alexander, the last US Israeli citizen held hostage after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, surprise attack on southern Israel, which killed about 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and started the latest war. Alexander, who grew up in Tenafly, NJ, had been serving in the Israeli military when he was captured.

Democratic Rep. Ritchie Torres declared that those who will not condemn Hamas over the heinous actions perpetrated on Oct. 7, 2023 "have no business" describing themselves as humanitarians.

An internal U.S. government analysis found no evidence of systematic theft by the Palestinian militant group Hamas of U.S.-funded humanitarian supplies, challenging the main rationale that Israel and the U.