U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused Hamas of continuing to seize humanitarian aid meant for civilians in Gaza, sharing drone footage that he said shows Hamas operatives looting an aid truck just weeks after the ceasefire took effect.
“Hamas continues to deprive the people of Gaza of the humanitarian aid they desperately need,” Rubio wrote in a post on X late Friday. “This theft undermines international efforts in support of President Trump’s 20 Point Plan to deliver critical assistance to innocent civilians.”
The footage, released by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), shows armed men stopping a truck from a humanitarian convoy in southern Gaza, forcing the driver out, and commandeering the vehicle. CENTCOM said the suspects were believed to be Hamas operatives who attacked the driver, stole the supplies, and drove the truck north toward Khan Younis. The driver’s condition remains unknown.
“This act of theft occurred while U.S. and international partners were delivering life-saving aid to Gazan civilians,” CENTCOM said in a statement. “It is a stark reminder of Hamas’s disregard for the people it claims to represent.”
The incident was first detected by an American MQ-9 Reaper drone monitoring Gaza as part of a U.S.-Israel effort to enforce the ceasefire agreement. It was flagged to the Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC), a U.S.-led hub in Kiryat Gat that oversees humanitarian and stabilization operations in postwar Gaza.
Roughly 200 U.S. military personnel have been deployed to the CMCC, which also includes representatives from allied nations. The center is tasked with coordinating logistics, security, and aid flows into the enclave — a central element of Trump’s stabilization plan.
The alleged looting occurred as U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine was in Israel meeting with top defense officials, including IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and Defense Minister Israel Katz. Caine toured the Gaza border by helicopter and visited the CMCC facility on Friday.
“We discussed the strategic and operational partnership between the IDF and the U.S. military, which is shaping the new reality in the Middle East,” Katz said after the meeting.
Israel has long accused Hamas of intercepting aid deliveries intended for civilians. While the United Nations acknowledges that looting was rampant earlier in the conflict, it says incidents have declined dramatically since the ceasefire began last month.
According to UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, only about 5% of humanitarian supplies were intercepted between October 10 and October 28 — down from more than 80% in the months leading up to the truce.
Still, the new footage — released by CENTCOM and amplified by Rubio — underscores U.S. frustration with Hamas’s continued control over aid distribution in Gaza. Rubio said the looting “proves once again that Hamas is the obstacle to peace and recovery” and urged the group to “lay down their arms and stop their looting so that Gaza can have a brighter future.”
Even as aid efforts continue, the IDF said its forces are still operating inside Rafah, where the Nachal Brigade has been destroying Hamas’s tunnel infrastructure and uncovering weapons caches. Troops recently discovered a multiple rocket launcher with 15 barrels, along with other military equipment.
The army said that while most Hamas operatives have withdrawn north, sporadic firefights continue near Rafah. In recent weeks, three IDF soldiers were killed during tunnel-clearing operations. Israel accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire in both incidents, responding with targeted airstrikes.
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