During the May Gaza war, an official working for UNRWA—the UN organization that provides humanitarian assistance to descendants of Palestinian refugees—created a sensation by telling the truth, as Jonathan Schanzer and Richard Goldberg write:

Matthias Schmale, the director of operations for UNRWA in Gaza, told Israel’s Channel 12 that Israeli military operations during the war were carried out with “sophistication” and “precision.” This ran counter to the Hamas narrative that Israel was attacking Gaza indiscriminately. . . . Schmale also noted, to the surprise of the Israeli anchor interviewing him, that during “the eleven days of war, we did not run out of food, water, and supplies.”

Finally, Schmale conceded that UNRWA “cannot work in a place like Gaza without coordinating with the local authorities [i.e., Hamas]; that’s true for any autocratic regime of this nature.” . . . Not surprisingly, Hamas authorities soon declared Schmale to be persona non grata in the Gaza Strip. . . . His organization for more than a decade had toed the Hamas line, parroting the [terrorist group’s] false accusations against Israel.

Worse still, evidence accumulated that Hamas has been digging tunnels through which to attack Israel under UNRWA schools, and using the schools to store munitions—turning students into human shields. Since the White House has requested $150 million dollars in support for UNRWA, Congress has an opportunity to hold the agency accountable:

Bilateral assistance provided through the U.S. Agency for International Development is already subject to strict terrorist-vetting protocols. . . . The same standard, however, does not apply to multilateral assistance provided to UNRWA. Congress can change that quickly by tying aid to UNRWA to a simple requirement: UNRWA must first submit information about would-be beneficiaries and contractors to the State Department for terror vetting—and only release funds after receiving a stamp of approval.

For some time, opponents of U.S support for Israel have been urging the White House to end the war in Gaza, or simply calling for a ceasefire. Douglas Feith and Lewis Libby consider what such a result would actually entail:

Ending the war immediately would allow Hamas to survive and retain military and governing power. Leaving it in the area containing the Sinai-Gaza smuggling routes would ensure that Hamas can rearm. This is why Hamas leaders now plead for a ceasefire. A ceasefire will provide some relief for Gazans today, but a prolonged ceasefire will preserve Hamas’s bloody oppression of Gaza and make future wars with Israel inevitable.

For most Gazans, even when there is no hot war, Hamas’s dictatorship is a nightmarish tyranny. Hamas rule features the torture and murder of regime opponents, official corruption, extremist indoctrination of children, and misery for the population in general. Hamas diverts foreign aid and other resources from proper uses; instead of improving life for the mass of the people, it uses the funds to fight against Palestinians and Israelis.

Moreover, a Hamas-affiliated website warned Gazans last month against cooperating with Israel in securing and delivering the truckloads of aid flowing into the Strip. It promised to deal with those who do with “an iron fist.” In other words, if Hamas remains in power, it will begin torturing, imprisoning, or murdering those it deems collaborators the moment the war ends. Thereafter, Hamas will begin planning its next attack on Israel:

Hamas’s goals are to overshadow the Palestinian Authority, win control of the West Bank, and establish Hamas leadership over the Palestinian revolution. Hamas’s ultimate aim is to spark a regional war to obliterate Israel and, as Hamas leaders steadfastly maintain, fulfill a Quranic vision of killing all Jews.

Hamas planned for corpses of Palestinian babies and mothers to serve as the mainspring of its October 7 war plan. Hamas calculated it could survive a war against a superior Israeli force and energize enemies of Israel around the world. The key to both aims was arranging for grievous Palestinian civilian losses. . . . That element of Hamas’s war plan is working impressively.