2008–2009 Gaza Strip aid

Following the Gaza War, humanitarian and reconstruction aid for the Gaza Strip was donated by many countries and international bodies. Damage from the Israeli offensive was estimated to be almost $2 billion. In a March conference, international donors pledged almost $4.5 billion, however, actual transfer of aid has been beset by difficulties.

On 2 March 2009, in an international conference at the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, donors pledged $4.481 billion to help the Palestinian economy and rebuild the Gaza Strip. The biggest donor was Saudi Arabia with $1 billion, followed by the United States, which promised $900 million, a third for humanitarian aid to Gaza and the rest to assist the Palestinian Authority of President Mahmoud Abbas. The conference was criticized by Iran.

On 12 January, Hamas raided some 100 aid trucks entering Gaza, stole their contents and sold them to the highest bidders. On 20 January, gunmen from Hamas' armed wing seized 12 trucks loaded with humanitarian aid that had been donated by the Jordanian government to the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to Jordanian and Palestinian Authority officials.

On 3 February, 3,500 blankets and over 400 food parcels were confiscated by Hamas police personnel from an UNRWA distribution center. On the following day, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator demanded that the aid be returned immediately. In a separate incident on 5 February, Hamas seized 200 tons of food from UNRWA aid supplies. The following day, UNRWA suspended its activities in Gaza. Hamas issued a statement stating that the incident was a misunderstanding between the drivers of the trucks and had been resolved through direct contact with the UNRWA. On 9 February, UNRWA lifted the suspension on the movement of its humanitarian supplies into Gaza, after the Hamas authorities returned all of the aid supplies confiscated.

Some local Gaza NGOs providing emergency aid stated that Hamas had ordered them to stop operating because it suspected they were affiliated with rival group Fatah.

Militant Islamist organization Hamas, which is the de facto governing body of the Gaza Strip, is boycotted by western countries as a terrorist organization. In an international conference on reconstructing Gaza, donors insisted that the aid money for the Gaza Strip must bypass Hamas. An administration official from the United States, which pledged $900 million in aid, said that none of the country's aid would go to Hamas, being funneled instead through United Nations groups and non-governmental organizations. However, congresspersons expressed concern that some money would fall into the hands of Hamas. "To route $900 million to this area, and let's say Hamas was only able to steal 10 percent of that, we would still become Hamas' second-largest funder after Iran," said Representative Mark Kirk (R-Ill.).Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Møller stressed that aid from Denmark would not end up in the hands of Hamas. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that "Israel supports foreign aid to the Strip, but it is important to build mechanisms and oversight methods to ensure that the aid reaches Gazan civilians and will not be used to strengthen Hamas."Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, of the rival Fatah party, advised international donors to send Gaza reconstruction money directly to property owners, offering a plan that would effectively bypass the territory's Hamas rulers.

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