A soldier with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has reported finding humanitarian aid packages from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) alongside a cache of weapons belonging to Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The discovery raises new concerns about how American taxpayer-funded aid may be ending up in the hands of terrorist organizations.
Asher Fredman, a former IDF soldier and the executive director of the Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy in Jerusalem, told The Post that he came across the USAID-marked packages while on patrol in a Hezbollah stronghold in an undisclosed village in Lebanon.
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Among the items found were sniper rifles, anti-tank missiles, and explosives.
“From the American taxpayer to Hezbollah, with love,” Fredman remarked in a statement to The Post.
The aid packages reportedly featured the USAID logo, along with the branding of the United Nations World Food Program.
They were labeled in both English and Arabic with the phrases, “Gift of the United States of America” and “From the American People.”
Fredman stated that the location was being used by Hezbollah as a “forward base” to launch attacks against Israel. “They had been there recently,” he said. “They fled the village as they saw the IDF on the way.”
An IDF spokesperson confirmed to The Post that they had no further information regarding the USAID packages.
The revelation comes as President Donald Trump moves forward with plans to dismantle USAID, an agency that has distributed billions in taxpayer-funded humanitarian assistance worldwide.
The effort is part of a broader initiative led by the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, which is targeting wasteful spending across federal agencies.
The department is being headed by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
Last week, USAID saw its workforce slashed from approximately 10,000 employees, most of whom operate internationally, to around 300.
The agency reported spending $68 billion in 2023.
President Trump addressed the issue on Truth Social last Friday, writing: “USAID is driving the radical left crazy, and there is nothing they can do about it because the way in which the money has been spent, so much of it fraudulently, is totally unexplainable.”
USAID IS DRIVING THE RADICAL LEFT CRAZY, AND THERE IS NOTHING THEY CAN DO ABOUT IT BECAUSE THE WAY IN WHICH THE MONEY HAS BEEN SPENT, SO MUCH OF IT FRAUDULENTLY, IS TOTALLY UNEXPLAINABLE. THE CORRUPTION IS AT LEVELS RARELY SEEN BEFORE. CLOSE IT DOWN!
Donald Trump Truth Social…
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) February 7, 2025
Gerald Steinberg, founder of NGO Monitor, a research institute that tracks the activities of international non-governmental organizations, has long warned that U.S. humanitarian assistance in the Middle East has been diverted to terrorist groups.
“The folks at USAID knew that taxpayers’ money and ‘emergency assistance’ went to terrorists,” Steinberg posted on X. “@NGOMonitor has repeatedly documented systematic aid diversion by terrorist organizations in Lebanon, Gaza, and Yemen.”
The folks at USAID knew that taxpayers’ money and “emergency assistance” went to terrorists.
“@NGOmonitor has repeatedly documented systematic aid diversion by terrorist organizations in Lebanon, Gaza, and Yemen.”https://t.co/cbxsSBmcbg— Prof Gerald M Steinberg (@GeraldNGOM) February 6, 2025
Fredman had previously raised concerns about similar findings in Lebanon.
“When I served in Lebanon last October, we found huge Hezbollah weapons caches, together with USAID care packages (not to mention UNICEF folders),” he posted on X last week in a message directed at Musk.
When I served in Lebanon last October, we found huge Hezbollah weapons caches – together with USAID care packages (not to mention UNICEF folders).
From the American taxpayer to Hezbollah, with love.@elonmusk pic.twitter.com/JUJBqGn96x
— Asher Fredman אשר פרדמן (@fredman_a) February 5, 2025
The discovery of USAID-branded aid in Hezbollah’s possession comes just as President Trump announced plans to cut U.S. funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
The decision follows investigations revealing that several employees of UNRWA were involved in planning and carrying out the October 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel.
In response, Israel has moved to sever ties with the agency. The growing evidence of aid misuse has intensified calls for stricter oversight of U.S. taxpayer-funded assistance programs abroad.
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