Lawmakers press secretary on humanitarian aid access, UNRWA funding and shipments stuck in U.S. warehouses

Members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee pressed Secretary of State Marco Rubio about the administration's handling of humanitarian aid to Gaza and other crises, the suspension of funding routed through the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), and specific delays in the shipment of life-saving therapeutic food produced in the United States.

Representative Perry asked Rubio what "concrete steps" the administration will take regarding UNRWA after allegations of collusion with Hamas, and Rubio replied, "We're not working with them anymore," adding, "we're done with that. We're not distributing any more aid through that organization, especially because of the links in Gaza that you've outlined that have now been well documented." He said alternatives are being sought to deliver aid that will reach civilians and not be diverted.

Several members raised grave humanitarian concerns about Gaza. Representative Dean described evidence of children dying from malnutrition and pressed the secretary for "a surge of aid into Gaza now." Rubio responded that he had asked Israeli authorities to allow more aid to flow and said he expected "more aid will begin to flow, rapidly over the next few days into Gaza."

Separately, Representative Alma reported that boxes of ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) purchased with U.S. funds were sitting in a Rhode Island warehouse. She said 123,000 boxes had been purchased for Sudan and that an additional 185,000 boxes remained unavailable for shipment; she pressed Rubio to commit to moving the remaining boxes quickly. Rubio stated there were no State Department impediments and asserted that the U.S. is "doing more food aid than anybody in the world," while the member said she would follow up weekly until distribution was resolved.

Members questioned how the administration is ensuring humanitarian assistance reaches intended recipients while preventing diversion to militant groups. Rubio said the administration is seeking alternatives to organizations with documented diversion risks and is building a humanitarian fund within the Department of State intended to preserve U.S. leadership in relief efforts. He also said he met with the World Food Programme and that the U.S. remained the largest global donor.

Discussion-only points included tradeoffs between delivering aid quickly through pre-existing channels (including UNRWA) and vetting to prevent diversion, and whether the suspension of funding would slow or block urgent life-saving deliveries. The committee sought written follow-ups and urged quicker distribution of goods already purchased with U.S. funds.

Ending: Committee members demanded more detailed, written updates and regular follow-ups from the secretary on shipments and on alternative mechanisms to distribute aid.