Donald Trump halts Joe Biden’s  million condoms for Gaza funding plan, Elon Musk reacts

2025-01-29 03:27:00

The Joe Biden administration in the US had allegedly earmarked $50 million for a condom distribution programme in the Gaza Strip, where Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas have been engaged in a bloody war for over 15 months, the White House claimed. Subsequently, the Donald Trump administration has frozen the funds, as it is working to cut expenditures.

The funding plan was discovered in the first week of the Donald Trump administration by the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), as the US administration, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said. However, the official did not provide any evidence to substantiate the claim, and a former senior Biden official dismissed it as a “feverish dream”.

“The DOGE and OMB have actually found that there was USD 37 million was about to go out the door to the World Health Organisation, which is an organisation… and OMB also found that there was about to be 50 million taxpayer dollars that went out the door to fund condoms in Gaza, that is a preposterous waste of taxpayer money,” Leavitt said.

There have been reports of condoms being used as improvised weapons in Gaza by Hamas, who have repurposed condoms as balloons filled with inflammable gases, and releasing them towards southern Israel.

Following the White House official’s comments, Elon Musk shared a report about Hamas using flaming condoms and quipped, “Explains why all condom orders were ‘Magnum'”, a band selling extra large-sized condoms.

However, the claim has been dismissed by a former senior official under the Biden administration. Andrew Miller, who served as deputy assistant secretary for Israeli-Palestinian affairs in the previous administration, called the claim “outlandish”.

“It’s possible that $50 million is put aside for sexual health or something of that nature, which would include gynecology and many other services, but definitely not condoms alone,” Miller told The Times of Israel.

The Trump administration is planning to temporarily halt federal grants, loans, and aid to assess their alignment with President Trump’s executive orders on funding, and the review of expenditure for Gaza was part of this procedure.

Published On:

Jan 29, 2025

Gaza, israel, condom in Gaza, 50 million for Gaza condom, joe biden, donald trump, Israel palestine war, Hamas, Hamas use condom as weapon, us Gaza funding

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