WASHINGTON

No US government funding was used to procure or distribute condoms or to provide family planning services in Gaza, the International Medical Corps (IMC) said Wednesday, refuting claims made by the Trump administration.

The humanitarian organization, which said it has received more than $68 million in funding from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) since Oct. 7, 2023, when the Israel-Hamas conflict broke out, emphasized that the financial support has been used solely for lifesaving medical operations in the besieged enclave.

“With the generous support of USAID and the American people, we’ve used these resources to operate two large field hospitals currently located in central Gaza -- one in Deir al Balah and one in Al Zawaida -- offering a combined total capacity of more than 250 beds, including 20 in the emergency room and 170 in the surgical department,” IMC said in a statement.

The organization highlighted that its operations have provided essential health care to roughly 33,000 civilians per month amid the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where medical infrastructure has been largely destroyed. Its services include trauma care, neonatal intensive care, pediatrics, orthopedics, and malnutrition treatment.

IMC’s statement comes after US President Donald Trump claimed Wednesday during a signing ceremony for the Laken Riley Act that his administration had “identified and stopped $50 million being sent to Gaza to buy condoms for Hamas.”

White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt made a similar claim Tuesday in her first press briefing, saying the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) found "that there was about to be 50 million taxpayer dollars that went out the door to fund condoms in Gaza." But she did not provide any evidence to support the claim.

However, a review of publicly available USAID data on condom shipments from 2007 to 2023 shows no record of such deliveries to Gaza. The only shipment to the Middle East during this period was a $45,680 supply sent to Jordan in 2023, which was noted as the first condom shipment to the region since 2019.

USAID’s 2023 report shows that the US delivered over $60 million in contraceptives and condoms globally, with 89% of funds directed to Africa, 9% Asia and 2% to Latin America.

State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce also claimed on social media that the agency had blocked $102 million in “unjustified funding” for a contractor in Gaza, including money for contraception.

But according to IMC, the bulk of those funds were allocated for mobile emergency hospitals, trauma centers and medical personnel responding to the humanitarian crisis.

The Trump administration has frozen nearly all foreign assistance programs for at least 90 days, sending shockwaves across the world as countries grapple with an abrupt halt to a range of programs funded by Washington, from development to humanitarian assistance. The US is the largest source of international assistance.

Refugees International President Jeremy Konyndyk, a former USAID official, also dismissed the White House’s claims Wednesday, pointing out on social media that the agency procures condoms at approximately $0.05 per unit.

“$50 million would be ONE BILLION condoms,” he wrote.

“What’s going on here is NOT a billion condoms for Gaza. What’s going on is that the bros at DOGE apparently can’t read govt spreadsheets.”