On May 2, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that the first shipment of humanitarian aid to arrive in Gaza through the Erez border crossing was seized by Hamas terrorists.
According to the US State Department, representatives of the UN are "either in the process or has by now recovered that aid." In any case, US authorities have officially acknowledged for the first time that Hamas seized humanitarian aid that is delivered to Gaza.
Miller stated that the aid shipment was unloaded by the Jordanian military inside the Strip before being "picked up by a humanitarian implementer for distribution inside Gaza." He also said that aid "was intercepted and diverted by Hamas on the ground in Gaza."
Hamas held the aid trucks for "some time" before releasing them, according to Miller.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken had viewed the aid on Tuesday before it was sent to Gaza. He also condemned the "unacceptable" targeting of the Jordanian aid convoy by Israeli protesters trying to prevent its transfer to Gaza.
