(JNS) Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Monday, Feb. 10 accused the United States Agency for International Development of providing “vast and secret” funding for Hamas following new revelations about USAID’s practices vis-à-vis Israel and the Palestinians.

On X, Cruz accompanied his allegation with a link to an exposé published Monday by the Washington Free Beacon that detailed cases of alleged funding by USAID of Hamas and terrorist-affiliated entities and the agency’s record of hostile lobbying against the Jewish state.

The full story of USAID funding Hamas is vast, and much of it was done in secret. Before and after October 7, USAID flowed uncountable hundreds of millions of dollars toward Hamas that enabled it to launch the attack and keep battling Israel afterwards.

Internally, Cruz said, USAID “admitted the aid would benefit Hamas, and even exempted themselves from anti-terrorism laws, but in public issued denials.”

The exposé referenced a report published last month by NGO Monitor, a Jerusalem-based watchdog, which showed funding in 2023 to the tune of $9 million by USAID to Mercy Corps, a U.S.-registered 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Mercy Corps worked to distribute the money among households in Gaza with the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Social Development, according to U.N. documents revealed in the report. USAID has earmarked $36.7 million for Mercy Corps projects in Yehuda and Shomron and Gaza since 2021, beyond the $9 million project in 2022, the report showed.