Trump Officials Told Congress Israel Will Match $30M for Gaza Humanitarian Aid

Senior Trump administration officials told Congress this month that Israel agreed to match a U.S. award of $30 million to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, a previously unreported contribution to the controversial armed private aid operation.

Aside from the U.S. contribution, which the U.S. State Department announced in June, the sources of the foundation's funding have been opaque - GHF does not disclose its donors. Israel faces intensifying international pressure over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and its promotion of GHF's aid operation, which has distribution sites only in southern Gaza and has been called dangerous and ineffective by aid groups and the United Nations - claims the group denies.

Aryeh Lightstone and Charles Leith, aides to Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, briefed Senate and House of Representatives committees on July 8 and 9 about the GHF operation, according to the two sources. They told the congressional committees that Israel had agreed to match the $30 million that the U.S. awarded to GHF in June, enough to fund the organization through the end of July, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Lightstone and Leith did not respond to a request for an interview and the White House referred questions to the State Department.

Donors "have pledged or disbursed tens of millions of dollars to GHF," a State Department spokesperson said, without identifying those donors. "The United States has pledged tens of millions of dollars," the spokesperson continued, adding that the U.S. aid "does not come close to encompassing the total amount of help the administration has given the people of Gaza since January 2025."

The Israeli government did not respond to requests for comment.

President Donald Trump said on Monday that the U.S. had dispensed $60 million for Gaza humanitarian aid. The State Departmen  has made no other announcements beyond the $30 million approved for the GHF in June. A third source familiar with the matter said some U.S. officials believe Trump likely was combining the U.S. and Israeli funds.

Lightstone and Leith told Congress the hope was that by August, other donors would see GHF's success and contribute to its operation, allowing the foundation to double its distribution sites from four to eight, according to the sources.

Reuters could not verify whether Israel had disbursed the $30 million to GHF, which uses private for-profit U.S. military and logistics firms to transport aid into the Palestinian enclave for distribution to its sites.

Speaking on Wednesday to the Hudson Institute think tank, GHF Executive Chairman Rev. Dr. Johnnie Moore, a former evangelical adviser to the White House during Trump's first term, said that as a private U.S. charity, the foundation did not have to disclose its donors.

He indicated that GHF required more money. "The biggest problem is just we need more of it, and $30 million is not going to get it done," he said, in an apparent reference to the U.S. contribution.

GHF said in an email to Reuters that it was focused on distributing as much food as was safely possible and was continuing to press the Israeli government to allow it to open additional distribution sites, including in northern Gaza.

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Israel alleges that the U.N.-led aid system that has traditionally served the residents of Gaza has let Hamas-led militants loot aid shipments intended for civilians.

Hamas denies the accusation. A recent U.S. government internal analysis found no evidence of systematic theft of U.S.-funded aid by Hamas. Starvation has been spreading in Gaza, and a hunger monitor on Tuesday said a worst-case scenario of famine is unfolding and immediate action is needed to avoid widespread death.

In his Wednesday remarks, Moore denied that famine is developing. "That's made up. There's not a famine. There's acute hunger. There's not enough food in the Gaza Strip," he said.