USAID has been a major funder of support for Palestinians in both Gaza and the occupied West Bank. In a November news release, the agency said it had invested over $600 million in economic support funding for Palestinians since 2021.
This was in addition to over $1.2 billion dedicated to humanitarian assistance for Palestinians since Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas launched multipronged attacks on Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostage, marking a major escalation in the conflict.
More than 47,000 people have died in the enclave since then, although researchers have estimated that the death toll is likely much higher.
USAID also announced in November that it planned to dedicate $230 million in additional funding to support economic recovery and development programs in Gaza and the West Bank.
That same month, Amy Tohill-Stull, director of USAID’s West Bank and Gaza mission, said in a statement that the U.S. commitment to the Palestinian people remained “steadfast.”
But the agency’s future is now deeply uncertain after Trump, in one of his first acts in office last month, paused development assistance from USAID for 90 days to assess compatibility with his “America First” policy.
Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, dubbed a “special government employee” by the White House, also said Monday that he and Trump were in the process of shutting it down.
Trump has since suggested that the U.S. should seek ownership of Gaza. Having made conflicting comments Tuesday on whether Palestinians would be able to stay in the enclave under such a proposal, on Thursday he suggested they could live in “far safer and more beautiful communities, with new and modern homes, in the region.”
After the State Department took control of USAID this week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News the move was “not about getting rid of foreign aid,” but that reforming the United States’ international aid programming could be necessary.
The White House decision came days after an Israeli ban on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees came into effect in a move that the world body warned will jeopardize humanitarian aid efforts in the Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The Trump administration has also vowed to extend a suspension on UNRWA funding brought in by its predecessors after Israel accused workers with the agency of taking part in the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks.
Meanwhile, the U.S. continues to be Israel’s biggest arms provider. Washington spent at least $17.9 billion on military aid for Israel in the first year of Israeli forces’ deadly offensive in Gaza, according to a November report for Brown University’s Costs of War project.
On the ground, the pause in USAID funding was already having tangible effects, agencies warned.
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