EXCLUSIVE – An international aid worker operating in Gaza has filed a formal whistleblower complaint to the Inspector General of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), alleging “gross misconduct and misuse of humanitarian funds by the World Food Programme and other U.N. Agencies,” according to a copy of the complaint obtained by Fox News Digital.
Details of alleged United Nations interference in the delivery of aid to Gazans have been revealed by the whistleblower who was in Gaza in July. The whistleblower confirmed to Fox News Digital the content of the complaint.
The whistleblower’s complaint claims “A firsthand eyewitnessing of senior Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officials offering any support necessary, including security protection and coordination, to representatives from the World Food Programme (WFP) and the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) only to have WFP and OCHA respond that they were not prepared to discuss such coordination.”
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According to the whistleblower complaint, this “raises serious questions as to why WFP and OCHA were unprepared to discuss or accept the assistance offered by the IDF, thereby preventing aid from getting to the people of Gaza.”
The whistleblower confirmed to Fox News Digital during an interview the allegations outlined in the complaint. The whistleblower said in the complaint that “the IDF is actively helping the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) get food into the hands of civilians while U.N. agencies, including WFP and OCHA, through their unwillingness to coordinate with the IDF, are inhibiting the distribution of such aid.”
The whistleblower continued, “As has been recently shown through openly available imagery, the IDF has provided clearance for thousands of tons of U.N. humanitarian goods that are now sitting inside of Gaza, awaiting distribution. The U.N. must be held accountable to pick up and distribute such aid. I urge you to launch an independent investigation into this matter to determine the extent to which U.N. agencies, by refusing to coordinate with the IDF on essential issues, including security, are abusing U.S. taxpayer funds rather than using them to deliver the aid the American people are donating – and whether such actions are being taken independently by U.N. officials in Gaza or at the direction of the U.N. Secretary General or other senior U.N. officials in New York. “
The GHF, with support from the U.S. and Israel, has distributed 127 million meals to Gazans since May. However, its aid distribution system has been under consistent attack from Hamas and from some unlikely quarters — the world’s leading aid groups.
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The whistleblower told Fox News Digital “There is a concerted effort to discredit GHF and any attempts to provide aid out of [the] U.N.”
A senior U.S. State Department official sent Fox News Digital a lengthy response. The official said, “The fact of the matter remains that GHF is a threat to how Hamas functions and enriches itself because GHF provides meals to those in need with safeguards to minimize Hamas from stealing. This is why Hamas continues to attack GHF aid sites.”
GHF Executive Chair, Reverend Johnnie Moore, told Fox News Sunday that the U.N. would rather aid Hamas, a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization, than help the charity.
According to the State Department official, “Aid diversion to terrorists frequently occurs in conflict zones under Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) control. It is a moral and legal obligation, and our duty to the American taxpayer, to work with our partners to ensure this ends immediately. There is endless video evidence of Hamas looting, not to mention members of the aid-industrial complex who have admitted that looting exists by reporting it as ‘self-distribution,’ in a poor attempt at an aid corruption coverup.”
The State Department official continued that “During the Biden Administration, USAID OIG published concerns related to the vetting of NGO personnel in Gaza. USAID OIG identified serious shortcomings and vulnerabilities in oversight mechanisms to prevent diversion of aid to Hamas terrorists. As a result of investigations, numerous UNRWA personnel affiliated with Hamas have been referred to the State Department for suspension or debarment proceedings.”
Fox News Digital reported on August 1 that the U.S. State Department urged in a report that the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) that provides aid to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip needs to be abolished and is beyond reform.
According to a U.S. State Department public assessment to Congress that was independently obtained by Fox News Digital, “The Administration has determined UNRWA is irredeemably compromised and now seeks its full dismantlement.”
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The State Department officials said that “USAID OIG investigations into UNRWA officials associated with Hamas, as well as other credible reports of Hamas interference in the delivery of aid, are active and ongoing. USAID OIG has received and is actively investigating credible allegations of systematic interference by Hamas in Gaza. These allegations can come from aid workers, whistleblowers, and other parties, rather than sanitized disclosures sent by U.N. agencies which refuse to name Hamas as the party responsible for the interference. Whistleblowers, including U.N. staff, may fear political retaliation or violent retribution for sharing information and outing Hamas.”
An Israeli security official told Fox News Digital, “In recent months, Israeli security officials have several times proposed to U.N. representatives that they hire the services of a security company. However, the U.N. has categorically refused and opposed the Israeli proposal.”
The Israeli official added, “It should be emphasized that despite this opposition by the U.N. to armed security for the organizations’ convoys in the Gaza Strip, the U.N. does agree to receive security and escort for its convoys in other countries around the world where it provides humanitarian services to civilians, such as South Sudan or Congo.”
The whistleblower’s complaint has caught the attention of congressional lawmakers. A senior Republican congressional staffer confirmed to Fox News that several offices have seen the whistleblower report and that it has been discussed between the Hill and USAID oversight and State Department officials.
“This report is just the latest in a long line of investigations and evidence in showing that Hamas worked with the U.N., NGO and officials within the Biden USAID to divert aid and cover it up. However, it is one of the more compelling accounts to come out yet,” said the senior congressional Republican staffer.
A second congressional staffer weighed in on the whistleblower’s complaint. According to the senate aide, the complaint was received, and they “conveyed their interest in this issue to the executive branch. We hope that they will do their job and look at it.”
Stéphane Dujarric, a spokesman for the United Nations secretary general, told Fox News Digital, “We are not aware of this complaint by a whistleblower as nothing has been passed on to us by USAID.”
He added, “On the basic accusation that we refuse to coordinate with the IDF in Gaza, the only thing that I can tell you is that such an accusation is delusional. There is not a single day that goes by that my colleagues on the ground are not in contact with the IDF, or more specifically COGAT, in an effort to coordinate the delivery of humanitarian aid in Gaza. On the issue of hunger in Gaza we firmly stand by the reporting of various U.N. agencies on the dramatic humanitarian situation.”
According to the whistleblower, who was on the ground in Gaza, they “found no evidence of ‘starvation’ or ‘famine’ in Gaza. There are pockets of severe hunger, but they are not systematic or pervasive.”
The whistleblower also based the analysis of hunger on input from other aid workers in Gaza.
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A WFP spokesperson told Fox News Digital in response to the whistleblower’s allegations about WFP disrupting aid delivery and impeding IDF help “that any such claim is untrue.”
The WFP spokesperson added, “GHF’s four sites in Gaza are in specific areas and the routes used to deliver aid to the sites are different from other humanitarian organizations delivering aid into Gaza. The U.N. is 100% transparent with the Israel authorities – for all coordination and if incidents occur.”
Richard Goldberg, a senior advisor to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a former White House and National Security Council official during both Trump administrations, told Fox News Digital, “The U.N. is playing hunger games with the people of Gaza to drive a crisis, try to get the GHF to fail and resuscitate UNRWA as the dominant aid facilitator. We are talking about an enormous amount of taxpayer money being provided to WFP and the U.N. writ large with an expectation that aid be delivered in coordination with Israel.
“The allegations here suggest a directive from the Secretary General himself across the U.N. system to cause aid disruptions for the benefit of Hamas, which would be the biggest U.N. scandal since oil for food.”
He added, “Secretary Rubio would be more than justified in calling the Secretary General and telling him that the U.N. won’t get another dime from U.S. taxpayers unless he submits to an independent investigation and orders all agencies to cooperate with Israel.”
Fox News’ Beth Bailey contributed to this article.
