Exclusive-USAID analysis found no evidence of massive Hamas theft of Gaza aid

By Jonathan Landay

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -An internal U.S. government analysis found no evidence of systematic theft by the Palestinian militant group Hamas of U.S.-funded humanitarian supplies, challenging the main rationale that Israel and the U.S. give for backing a new armed private aid operation.

The analysis, which has not been previously reported, was conducted by a bureau withinthe U.S. Agency for International Development andcompleted in late June. Itexamined 156 incidents of theft or…