Both former President Trump and his press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, claimed that the U.S. government stopped a plan to send $50 million to Gaza for the purchase of condoms, as part of a review of foreign funding under the new administration. Trump said this money would have been used by Hamas to make bombs.
Trump’s statement mentioned that Hamas used gas-filled condoms in the past to make incendiary balloons, which are used to attack Israel. These balloons have been launched by Hamas and other militant groups in the past, and images from 2020 showed men attaching bombs to these condoms.
However, there is no clear evidence supporting the idea that this $50 million program existed, nor is it confirmed that condoms have been used as bombs in Gaza. The U.S. government’s budget office and USAID did not respond to requests for clarification from CBS News. The State Department’s reports show that past shipments of contraceptives to the region, including condoms, cost much less than the $50 million figure mentioned.
In a statement, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said that a review of foreign assistance had led to halting $102 million in funding, including money for contraceptives. This funding was intended for an organization called the International Medical Corps, which operates in Gaza.
The International Medical Corps responded by saying that they used U.S. funding to operate field hospitals in Gaza but did not use any of the funds for condoms. They also stated that no U.S. funds were used to buy or distribute condoms.
Looking at past records from USAID, the most recent shipment of contraceptives to the Middle East in 2023 was sent to Jordan, not Gaza. The shipment cost about $45,680 and included injectable and oral contraceptives, but no condoms. Previous shipments of contraceptives to the Middle East have been rare, with only two shipments in the decade before 2023. In 2019, USAID spent $1.1 million on contraceptives for Yemen, with a small portion of that spent on condoms.
It remains unclear if there were any planned shipments of contraceptives to Gaza for 2025. However, in 2023, USAID spent a total of $60 million on contraceptives for 23 countries.
