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| A truck loaded with humanitarian aid drives through a devastated street in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, late last month. |
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Aid agencies are raising alarms over President Donald Trump’s efforts to overhaul the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), warning that the move is already disrupting humanitarian assistance to Palestinians suffering from 15 months of war in Gaza.
Medical supplies, food deliveries, and other essential aid were already delayed worldwide due to the administration’s 90-day freeze on all foreign assistance. Humanitarian organizations fear that similar delays in Gaza could further exacerbate an already dire situation.
“The pause is being felt everywhere,” said Jesse Marks, senior advocate for the Middle East at Refugees International. “These organizations are the frontline responders—operating field hospitals, distributing aid, and ensuring it reaches those in need.”
USAID has been a crucial source of support for Palestinians in both Gaza and the occupied West Bank. Since 2021, the agency has allocated over $600 million in economic support funding, in addition to more than $1.2 billion in humanitarian aid since October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched coordinated attacks on Israel. The attacks resulted in 1,200 Israeli deaths and around 250 hostages, marking a significant escalation in the conflict. Since then, more than 47,000 people have died in Gaza, though researchers suggest the actual toll is likely much higher.
In November, USAID announced plans to invest an additional $230 million in economic recovery and development programs for Gaza and the West Bank. At the time, Amy Tohill-Stull, director of USAID’s West Bank and Gaza mission, reaffirmed that the U.S. commitment to Palestinians remained “steadfast.”
However, USAID’s future is now uncertain. One of Trump’s first actions after returning to office was to pause all USAID development assistance for 90 days to evaluate its alignment with his “America First” policy.
Elon Musk, whom the White House has designated as a “special government employee,” stated Monday that he and Trump were working to shut the agency down. Meanwhile, Trump has proposed that the U.S. should seek control of Gaza. After making conflicting statements about whether Palestinians would be allowed to stay, he later suggested they could be relocated to “far safer and more beautiful communities, with new and modern homes, in the region.”
This week, the State Department took control of USAID. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News that the restructuring is “not about eliminating foreign aid” but about reforming U.S. international aid programs.
The White House decision comes just days after Israel implemented a ban on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), a move that the U.N. warns will severely hinder humanitarian efforts in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. The Trump administration has also vowed to extend a previous suspension of UNRWA funding, following Israeli accusations that some of the agency’s workers participated in the October 7 attacks.
At the same time, U.S. military aid to Israel continues. A report from Brown University’s Costs of War project found that Washington allocated at least $17.9 billion in military aid to Israel during the first year of its Gaza offensive.
On the ground, the freeze on USAID funding is already having severe consequences. The International Medical Corps (IMC) warned that without funding, it might have to halt lifesaving medical support in Gaza. Since October 7, IMC has received $68 million from USAID to operate two major field hospitals in central Gaza—one in Deir al-Balah and another in Al Zawaida. These facilities provide around-the-clock care to approximately 33,000 civilians per month, despite widespread destruction of Gaza’s healthcare infrastructure.
“These hospitals are operating in an incredibly dangerous and insecure environment,” IMC stated last month, warning that if the stop-work order remains in place, it may have to cease operations within a week.
As of Friday, UNICEF spokesperson Tess Ingram said she had not yet observed major USAID-related disruptions in northern Gaza but emphasized that this does not mean they are not occurring elsewhere. She also stressed that the fragile ceasefire in place has provided a brief moment of stability—one that aid groups are desperately trying to use to provide critical support.
Oxfam America President and CEO Abby Maxman warned that dismantling USAID would be a “callous, destructive political power play” with devastating consequences for millions facing humanitarian crises.
“By dismissing almost all USAID staff, the Trump administration is recklessly discarding decades of expertise in the global fight against poverty, hunger, disease, and inequality,” she said.
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