Material labeled as being from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has allegedly been found among weapons stockpiled by Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorists at positions along Lebanon’s border with Israel.
Israel has been attacking, exposing, and destroying Hezbollah positions along the border, including weapons caches. These were used to attack Israeli communities, and to prepare for an October 7-style invasion of northern Israel.
A video published by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers shows a group of infantrymen surrounding a stockpile of weapons. As the camera pans to the right, a box labeled “USAID” appears among a set of anti-tank missiles.
Hezbollah has used anti-tank missiles to target Israel’s border communities because they fly at lower trajectories than other rockets, making them harder to detect by missile defense systems. In addition, the higher elevation of Lebanese border positions relative to Israeli towns has made it easier for Hezbollah to use anti-tank missiles in its attacks.
It is not clear what is in the USAID box, nor why it was found among the weapons, but there is the possibility that terrorists are appropriating USAID assistance for their own purposes. Similarly, photographs and videos from Gaza show Hamas weapons appearing with material from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
The Jerusalem-based NGO Monitor reacted to evidence of possible USAID diversion to Hezbollah in a statement:
Yona Schiffmiller, Director of Research at NGO Monitor, stated: “The US must ensure that taxpayer funded aid is not distributed to US-designated terrorists, or their allies. It must demand that UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs apply rigorous vetting to all beneficiaries, particularly in areas controlled by terrorist organizations.”
On October 13,2024, a video was circulated of a Hezbollah weapons cache seized by the IDF in Lebanon. Among the items displayed was a package bearing the logos of USAID and the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP).
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NGO Monitor has repeatedly warned of the dangers of aid diversion by terrorist organizations – including in Lebanon, Gaza, and Yemen. In May 17, 2024 testimony to a subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, NGO Monitor Director of Research Yona Schiffmiller stated, “Rigorous vetting is required to ensure that US assistance aligns with American policy goals and values, and to guarantee that taxpayer funds are not provided to terror-linked actors, or to those that glorify violence and espouse antisemitism.”
The Office of the Inspector General at USAID noted earlier this year that there had, in fact, been cases in which U.S. assistance to organizations in Lebanon had found its way to groups linked to Hezbollah, and that recipient groups had settled legal claims that they falsely reported that “material support” was not reaching terrorist organizations. The report noted further that there are ongoing investigations into other “false certification” cases involving USAID.
USAID Administrator Samantha Power has a long history of anti-Israel positions. The Biden-Harris administration continues to provide aid to Lebanon even though Hezbollah has dominated Lebanon’s politics and government.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
