US President Donald Trump bragged on Wednesday that his administration had stopped $50 million worth of “condoms used by Hamas to make bombs in Gaza.” Trump offered no evidence for his claims — that condoms were being sent to Gaza or that Hamas was using birth control to make bombs — leaving many wondering what the US president was talking about.

DropSiteNews revealed Thursday that President Trump and the administration confused the Gaza Strip in southern Mozambique, to which health aid was sent, with the Gaza Strip of Palestine.

Trump made the contraceptive claim while listing his administration's accomplishments since taking office.

“We identified and stopped $50 million going to Gaza to buy condoms for Hamas. They used them as a means to make bombs. What about that?” White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt made a similar claim Tuesday during her first press briefing. She said the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) “found that there was approximately $50 million in taxpayer money going to Gaza to fund condoms.”

In her first press conference, Levitt called the alleged aid a "ridiculous waste of taxpayer money."

Jesse Watters, a right-wing talk show host on Fox News, also said that Hamas is using nonexistent U.S. shipments to make “condom bombs” and launch explosive-laden balloons into Israel, without providing any evidence.

According to experts, Trump has been accused of portraying Gaza as an example of wasteful spending of U.S. foreign aid. His administration has justified its suspension of nearly all foreign aid by highlighting examples of “egregious funding,” such as contraception and reproductive health care programs.

The administration says it is conducting a review to ensure that tens of billions of dollars in U.S. foreign aid is consistent with Trump's "America First" foreign policy and not a waste of taxpayer money.

The United States is the world’s largest donor of aid. In fiscal year 2023, it disbursed $72 billion in aid worldwide on everything from women’s health in conflict zones to access to clean water, HIV/AIDS treatments, energy security and anti-corruption efforts.

Shortly after returning to office for a second term on January 20, Trump ordered a 90-day freeze on foreign aid to ensure that the aid was consistent with his administration's policies, which oppose abortion, transgender rights and diversity programs.

For his part, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a memo issued last Friday, January 24, 2025, that the United States is freezing almost all aid disbursements except for emergency food aid and military aid to Egypt and Israel.

Number of condoms that can be purchased for $50 million:

Refugees International President Jeremy Konyndyk, who oversaw USAID’s COVID-19 assistance portfolio for President Joe Biden’s administration, has refuted Trump and Levitt’s claims as unrealistic.

“USAID buys condoms for about $0.05 apiece, and $50 million would buy a billion condoms,” he wrote on the X website on Wednesday. “What’s happening here isn’t a billion condoms for Gaza. What’s happening is that the guys at the State Department apparently can’t read government spreadsheets.”

Was the US really going to send $50 million worth of condoms to Gaza?

There is no publicly available evidence of plans to spend millions of taxpayer dollars to fund condoms in Gaza, and a State Department official did not respond to a request for evidence from Reuters.

However, there is a lot of evidence that seems to refute Trump's claim.

In a statement Wednesday, International Medical Corps (IMC), an organization that receives U.S. funds to provide medical care in Gaza, clarified its work in the blockaded territory. “No U.S. government funding has been used to purchase or distribute condoms, nor to provide family planning services,” it said.

The statement added that the International Medical Corps has received more than $68 million from USAID since October 7, 2023, which has been used to operate two large field hospitals in Gaza, including surgical care, treatment of malnutrition, and emergency care for mothers and newborns.

None of the reports available to ordinary researchers from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed by billionaire Elon Musk (the world’s richest man), or the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) reflect a plan to spend $100 million on IMC operations in Gaza.

Reports for fiscal years 2007 through 2023 on contraceptives and condoms shipped by USAID to the rest of the world also show no record of condoms shipped to Gaza.

Dana Stroul, former deputy assistant secretary of defense for Middle Eastern affairs, said in a post on X on Wednesday that USAID did not spend money on Gaza in fiscal year 2023.

A USAID report from April shows that the United States delivered $60.8 million in contraceptives and condoms to four regions — the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean — in the previous fiscal year.

The Middle East received just $45,681 while Africa received more than $54 million, or 89 percent, of contraceptives in FY23.

The report added that the $45,681 was provided in full to Jordan and included oral contraceptives and injectables but not condoms.

USAID reports also show deliveries to the Middle East in fiscal years 2019, 2013, 2012, 2009, 2008, and 2007, none of which mention any deliveries to Gaza.

Under the Trump administration, USAID provided $1.1 million to the Middle East in fiscal year 2019. All of the goods went to Yemen, including male and female condoms and multiple types of contraceptives.