Hamas seeks to put hands on Gaza aid funds

Egypt, the U.S. and other foreign governments are looking for ways to rebuild the devastated Gaza Strip without channeling funds through the governing militant group, Hamas.

Hamas says it wants aid routed through the militant group, an early indication of how challenging the Gaza reconstruction process will be. 

“This war was a great step in the way of liberation and we do prefer that the reconstruction of Gaza will be directed from the countries to our channels directly,” said Khaled Mashal, a senior Hamas official.

Officials in Israel say they want to prevent the rebuilding effort from aiding Hamas’s drive to rearm itself following the latest round of fighting. Israeli officials accuse Hamas of siphoning off reconstruction funds from past conflicts to build rockets and dig tunnels underneath the Gaza Strip and into Israel.

The scale of devastation in Gaza is massive: More than 100,000 people have been internally displaced and 300 buildings containing 1,000 housing units were destroyed, according to the United Nations.

The conflict also damaged five of Gaza’s 10 electricity lines. Fuel shortages have forced the Gaza power plant to run at reduced capacity, providing the Strip with about five hours of electricity a day. Outages have reduced operations at medical facilities and water desalination plants, in addition to other basic services, according to the U.N.

President Biden said the U.S. is seeking ways to rapidly assist and rebuild Gaza that don’t directly fund Hamas, the Gaza Strip’s de facto ruler since it seized control in 2007.

“We will do this in full partnership with the Palestinian Authority—not Hamas, the Authority—in a manner that does not permit Hamas to simply restock its military arsenal,” he said.

While international funds have flowed through the Palestinian Authority in the past, the split between Hamas in Gaza and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank city of Ramallah complicates these efforts.