Trump Claims $50M Gaza Condom Funding Halted, Evidence Lacking

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump claimed Wednesday that his administration halted $50 million in U.S. funding intended to buy condoms for Hamas in Gaza, a statement echoed by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. However, no credible evidence supports these assertions, according to fact-checking and official records.

Trump made the remarks during the signing of the Laken Riley Act in the White House’s East Room. Leavitt had earlier told reporters that the Department of Government Efficiency and the Office of Management and Budget identified the alleged funding as “a preposterous waste of taxpayer money.”

The claims appear to reference a $102.2 million USAID grant awarded to the International Medical Corps (IMC) for medical and trauma services in Gaza. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce stated on X that the agency had “prevented $102 million in unjustified funding to a contractor in Gaza, including money for contraception.”

Officials clarified that the funding included family planning programming, sexual healthcare, and adolescent reproductive health services. However, the IMC denied using U.S. government funds for condoms or family-planning services. Instead, the organization said the funds supported two field hospitals in Gaza, providing critical medical care to over 383,000 civilians since January 2024.

Refugees International President Jeremy Konyndyk, who previously oversaw USAID’s COVID-19 assistance, dismissed the claims on X, noting that $50 million would equate to one billion condoms at USAID’s procurement rate of $0.05 per condom. “What’s going on here is NOT a billion condoms for Gaza,” he wrote.

USAID records show no recent shipments of condoms to Gaza. The agency’s most recent family planning programs in the Middle East were limited to Jordan and Yemen, with a small shipment of contraceptives valued at $45,680 sent to Jordan in 2024.

The IMC emphasized that its USAID funding has been used to operate field hospitals in Deir Al Balah and Al Zawaida, offering over 250 beds and performing 11,000 surgeries. The organization also assisted in delivering 5,000 babies and treating thousands for malnutrition.

Associated Press writers Ellen Knickmeyer and Matthew Lee contributed to this report.