A stunning new report is raising serious concerns about the British government’s financial dealings in Gaza, revealing that millions of pounds in UK taxpayer money may be flowing—knowingly—to Hamas, a U.S. and UK-designated terrorist organization.
The report, released by watchdog NGO Monitor, centers around a British Consulate-General document dated November 2022, which outlines the UK’s humanitarian aid strategy in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Within it is a key detail: the British government admits its financial assistance is being coordinated through the Ministry of Social Development (MoSD) in Gaza—an entity under the control of Hamas.
“The MoSD in Gaza is affiliated with the de facto authorities,” the document states, “and thus UK Aid can be linked directly or indirectly with supporting the de facto authority (Hamas) in Gaza which is part of a proscribed group.”
That admission is now at the heart of a growing controversy. According to NGO Monitor, Hamas has a well-documented history of hijacking humanitarian aid, using international funds to build military infrastructure, pay operatives, and tighten its grip over the Gaza Strip. Alarmingly, the group says this diverted aid played a direct role in Hamas’ deadly October 7th attacks against Israel.
“Hamas has exercised effective control over the MoSD in Gaza for several years,” the report notes. It highlights that as recently as 2024, the ministry was headed by Ghazi Hamad—a senior Hamas official and politburo member—who was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department and publicly praised the October 7 massacre in a televised interview.
NGO Monitor’s Anne Herzberg underscored the severity of the UK’s involvement: “A Hamas-controlled entity was an integral partner in determining how cash assistance provided by the UK government to UNICEF would be distributed in Gaza.”
Veteran Israeli journalist Amit Segal reviewed the findings and questioned whether the UK adjusted its policies following Hamas’ brutal assault. “But maybe London changed its policy after October 7?” he asked. “Well, in March 2024, UNICEF wrote that it ‘maintained and strengthened the partnership with the MoSD.’”
By November, UNICEF confirmed that the humanitarian cash transfer program in Gaza was still backed by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, as well as the European Union. According to the UN Financial Tracking System, Britain provided roughly $23.1 million to UNICEF for West Bank and Gaza programs in 2024 alone.
Critics are now blasting Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s administration for what they see as stunning hypocrisy—condemning Israel’s military response to Hamas while, at the same time, funneling millions to institutions controlled by the very group behind the violence.
The revelations have ignited fierce debate in the UK and abroad, as pressure mounts for a full accounting of where British aid dollars are really going—and whether taxpayer money is bankrolling terror.
