Gaza Humanitarian Foundation claims not to distribute sugar after accusation it set up trap
No evidence and are not able to verify that Omar Hamad is linked to Hamas as claimed by the GHF
CLAIM
The contentious Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said a “Hamas propagandist” was making false claims of it setting up a trap for starving Palestinians trying to obtain sugar from its distribution point.
BACKGROUND
The contentious Israel and U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has begun posting on X about what it says are false claims made about events at its distribution centres and the aid it hands out. On July 1, the GHF published a post with a screengrab of a post by a Palestinian man claiming personnel at a GHF distribution site had dug a trap for people trying to get to sugar, that it said had been placed in a separate area from the remainder of the aid.
The GHF posted a screengrab of a post said to have been made by a man who identifies himself as Omar Hamad. At time of writing the X account in question had been deactivated.
“This Hamas propagandist is back with an even more fanciful lie. Fact check: GHF is not distributing sugar,” the GHF wrote on X.
The executive chairman of the GHF, Rev. Johnnie Moore, also took to X to say that his organisation does not distribute sugar, offering it as proof that the claim made was fabricated.
This was further amplified by the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, who shared Moore’s post.
METHOD
The X account by the user Omar Hamad was no longer active when we checked it on July 2. However, an Instagram account with the same profile picture and name was still up and running. The Instagram account frequently shares screengrabs from the now-deactivated @OmarHamadD X account. The post shared by GHF, however, was not published there.
In his Instagram bio, Hamad describes himself as “A Writer and A Tailor and A pharmacist from #Gaza.” He published a number of photos of himself and most recently video of himself against the backdrop of destroyed buildings.
We were not able to find any other reports by Palestinian accounts and news sites also claiming that a trap had been set up for Palestinians trying to obtain sugar at a GHF site. The exact GHF site in question was also not specified. While the GHF posted the screengrab on July 1, it did not show the date that post was published though it appears to have been very recent. We did locate the URL for the original post and the first comments under it were posted on July 1.
Based on Hamad’s post, it is not clear if he had been at the distribution site when the alleged incident took place. It is written in such a way that he may have been recounting what he was told as he mentions holding a man who had just returned from the centre. However, this cannot be confirmed.
Next, we looked at the claim that no sugar is distributed at GHF sites that the organisation made in response to Hamad’s post as apparent proof that his story was fabricated. There are a number of reports appearing to refute this claim. An Associated Press report from May 30 cites a GHF spokesperson that the food boxes being handed out contain sugar among other food products. Photos in news reports by the Middle East Eye and ABC News of the content of boxes handed out by the GHF also showed packages with the Hebrew word for sugar on them. Eyewitness footage and photos shared on social media also showed sugar inside the aid boxes.
While it is not possible to ascertain if sugar was being handed out at the site in question on the day that it was claimed the trap was set up, GHF’s own claims in the past contradict the recent claim that no sugar was being distributed.
RATING
Photos used in reputable news reports of the content of the aid packages have shown them to contain sugar in the past. A report by the Associated Press citing a spokesperson for the GHF also said the packages include sugar. However, it is not clear if sugar was being distributed on the day in question.
Violence is well-documented at GHF sites with over 500 people killed and hundreds more wounded since they opened, according to Gazan authorities. However, we have found no additional information about the claims made in the X post about a trap set up for people trying to get sugar and we cannot verify if it is true or false.
We have found no evidence and are not able to verify that Omar Hamad is linked to Hamas as claimed by the GHF.
SOURCES
Associated Press (2025). A Palestinian describes 15 minutes of terror trying to get food in the new Gaza distribution system[online] [Accessed 2 July. 2025].
ABC News. (2025). Humanitarian groups, UN heavily criticize new aid distribution plan in Gaza [online] [Accessed 2 July. 2025].
Middle East Eye. (2025). What’s inside the boxes of aid being distributed in Gaza? [online] [Accessed 2 July. 2025].
Instagram. (2025). Available at: omar.hamad7 [Accessed 1 July. 2025].
X (formerly Twitter). (2025). Available at: @OmarHamadD. [Accessed 2 July. 2025].
X (formerly Twitter). (2025). Available at: This Hamas propagandist is back with an even more fanciful lie… [Accessed 2 July. 2025].
X (formerly Twitter). (2025). Available at: The lies just keep getting crazier. We don’t even distribute sugar. [Accessed 2 July. 2025].
X (formerly Twitter). (2025). Available at: No end to the pro-Hamas lies that get spread like fertilizer on a farm! [Accessed 2 July. 2025].