The Trump administration's cuts to USAID funding have frozen hundreds of millions of dollars in contract payments to aid agencies, forcing them to use their own funds to maintain a fragile cease-fire, according to U.S. humanitarian officials.
These cuts could reverse the small gains that aid workers made in tackling the Gaza crisis during the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
They could also threaten the fragile ceasefire agreement that the Trump administration helped establish.
The bulk of the aid for Gaza was supposed to be funded by USAID as the ceasefire continued, and on January 31 the Trump administration approved more than $383 million for that purpose, according to three USAID officials.
However, no confirmed payments have been made to partners in the Middle East since then, they added.
Officials who have lived through several rounds of cuts spoke on condition of anonymity because of fears of retaliation.
Two senior aid workers have confirmed that they have not received any of the promised funds, despite having spent millions on goods and services.
They noted that they could not continue their aid activities indefinitely.
Some organizations have already reported staff cuts and scaled back their operations, according to internal USAID data provided to The Associated Press.
This could jeopardize the ceasefire, under which Hamas is required to release hostages held in the Gaza Strip in exchange for Israel releasing Palestinian prisoners and increasing humanitarian aid.
“The United States has made specific commitments to provide assistance under the ceasefire, and it is impossible… to fulfill those commitments while the funding freeze continues,” said Jeremy Konyndyke, president of Refugees International and a former USAID official.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
