United States Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee again on Tuesday rejected the charge that Israel is starving Gaza’s population, pointing the finger squarely at Hamas stealing and squandering billions in aid.
“Eighty-eight percent of the U.N. food going through that process has been stolen or looted,” he said. “That’s because Hamas steals the food. Then they turn around and sell it. And with the money, that’s how they finance their operations. Last year, Hamas made $500 million stealing aid,” the diplomat said on the Newsmax program “Carl Higbie Frontline,” which aired the interview from Jerusalem.
The 69-year-old former Republican governor of Arkansas, who took the Israel post on April 21, dismissed allegations that Israel is starving the population in Gaza, noting that the Jewish state has delivered “2 million tons of food” to the Strip. While there is deprivation in Gaza, it is the fault of Hamas, he added.
“The reason there is deprivation, the reason there is hunger is because of Hamas,” he said. “And I’ll tell you who’s really getting starved: the hostages.”
Palestinian terrorists in Gaza hold 50 hostages, of whom 20 are believed to be alive.
Huckabee relayed the stance of U.S. President Donald Trump on ending the conflict, that “Hamas has no role in the future, and they’re not going to govern.” The envoy stated that the terrorist group will have to disarm.
Huckabee to Newsmax: Hamas Used Aid to Build Tunnels in Gaza https://t.co/6gfXMyoutl
— Ambassador Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) August 13, 2025
He said that while European countries have recently been calling for a Palestinian state, the Arab League put out a unanimous resolution that Hamas must disarm and release all of the hostages.
“It is a crazy time to look at this region, but it certainly comes to the place where the president is dead right when he says, ‘Hamas has to go for the same reason that the Nazis had to leave Germany and disband at the end of World War II,’” said Huckabee.
Huckabee described as a “scandal” the billions of dollars that went into Gaza over the past two decades since Hamas took power, which the terrorist group used to build a massive tunnel system.
“What did they do with those billions of dollars? They could have built Singapore,” said Huckabee. “Instead, they turned it into Haiti. It’s been a disaster. Here’s what they did. They built a tunnel system to hide their terrorist activities. It is a tunnel system 500 miles bigger than the London Underground.”
