Hamas Urges End to U.S. Security Assistance to Israel

Latest Developments

Hamas said on March 5 that ending U.S. security assistance to Israel is more important than increasing humanitarian assistance for Gaza. The United States has been air-dropping aid for needy Palestinians as its regional partners, Qatar and Egypt, pursue so-far fruitless negotiations on a possible truce between Israel and Hamas that would bring more extensive relief measures over Ramadan to the Gaza Strip.

Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan sought to turn the tables against Israel, telling a Beirut press conference, “We say to Washington, what is more important than sending aid [to Gaza] is stopping its supply of weapons to Israel.” He also reiterated Hamas’s core conditions for any truce deal: an end to the almost five-month-old war and withdrawal of all Israeli forces. Israel has ruled out ending the war until Hamas’s military and governance capabilities are dismantled and all hostages are recovered.

Israeli negotiators have not attended the latest round of truce talks, hosted in Cairo, citing Hamas’s failure to provide details on the hostages it proposes to release or about the number of jailed Palestinian terrorists it would want freed in return.

Expert Analysis

“It was always clear from Hamas’s actions that it prioritizes the dream of destroying Israel over the daily needs of the Palestinians under its rule. Now it has been enunciated by a senior representative of the group. Hamas would happily see Palestinians starve if that helps drive a wedge between Jerusalem and Washington. And the fact that an internationally proscribed terrorist group believes the Biden administration might heed its counsel speaks volumes about how skewed Western discourse has become during this crisis.” — Mark Dubowitz, FDD CEO

“Knowing that Hamas is demanding an end to U.S. security assistance to Israel should inspire more support for such aid than ever before. Remember, it’s not just Hamas talking — it’s Iran talking through its proxy, Hamas.” — Richard Goldberg, FDD Senior Advisor

“From the start of the war, Hamas and the Iran-led Resistance Axis have consistently tried to hold the United States responsible for Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip. Hamas seeks to capitalize on the ongoing political discussions in Washington about conditioning aid to Israel by bringing attention to weapons transfers and advocating for their cessation.” — Joe Truzman, Senior Research Analyst at FDD’s Long War Journal

“Airdrops increase in Gaza as new method to deliver aid,” by Seth J. Frantzman

“Israel Coordinates Airdrops of Humanitarian Aid Into Gaza, Bypassing Hamas,” FDD Flash Brief

“Israel Sidesteps UNRWA to Deliver Gaza Aid Via WFP,” FDD Flash Brief

“12,000 Trucks With Humanitarian Aid Have Entered Gaza Since October 7,” FDD Flash Brief