Israel has long restricted aid to Gaza on the argument that Hamas steals it to use as a weapon of control over the population. On Saturday, the Israeli military announced new airdrops of aid.

Two senior Israeli army officers have told The New York Times there is no evidence that Hamas looted UN humanitarian aid in Gaza, undermining a central Israeli justification for severely restricting food deliveries to over two million people and driving the population towards famine.

IDF International Spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani dismissed the report as “fake news. ” Anonymous IDF officials claimed there was no evidence to suggest thatHamas routinely stole humanitarian aid,