Trump in Doral, Florida
(Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

‘Literally made this s— up’: Trump bizarrely claims U.S. sent $50 million worth of condoms to Hamas to make bombs

Of all the things that could be used to make bombs, would condoms be at the top of anyone’s list? According to President Donald Trump, that’s exactly what Hamas is doing, and thank God for Trump because he put a stop to it, to the tune of $50 million, or so he says. Like many things with Trump, this is simply not true.

Recommended Videos

There’s a lot going on here. Let’s start with Trump’s statement. He said his administration “identified and stopped” $50 million going to Gaza so that Hamas could buy condoms for bombs. Let’s just think about this on a practical level. Let’s say you filled a condom with helium, and added some kind of incendiary device. Then what? How would that device be controlled? Would you just pray it would hit a target?

Firstly, there’s no evidence that there was any money sent to Gaza for condoms, much less $50 million. There is, however, a release by the U.S. Department of State saying that Hamas and other groups have used incendiary balloons as a weapon, but there’s no evidence Hamas has specifically used condoms against Israel.

In 2020, the Associated Press showed a photo of masked Palestinian men attaching devices to condoms and balloons filled with gas, but that’s all we have. Neither Trump or anyone in his organization have given evidence of a specific program, or whether the so-called condom bombs were used in the war against Israel. Considering the photo is the only evidence we have, and it’s from 2020, that’s a hard connection to make.

A report by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) showed that there was a $45,680 shipment of oral and injectable contraceptives sent to Jordan, but none of it went to Gaza.

So where does that leave us? Yes, Hamas might have used condom bombs in the past but there’s been no evidence of it in the current war. No, we did not spend $50 million to send condoms to Palestinians in Gaza. Hamas may not be as well funded as the Israel Defense Forces, but they do have their own weapons.

Hamas has sniper rifles from Iran, AK-47 assault rifles from Russia and China, and grenade launchers from North Korea and Bulgaria. Israel has tanks, artillery, helicopter gunships, American fighter jets, and a seemingly endless array of weaponry. Condom bombs? How are people buying this?

In a post on X, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said pausing foreign assistance has allowed the government to stop “unjustified” and “non-emergency” spending, which included $102 million to Gaza, “including money for contraception.” Should we take Bruce at her word?

After being pressed by reporters, Bruce said the $102 million was for International Medical Corps for Gaza. That organization said in a news release that it got about $68 million since late 2023 and used that money for two field hospitals, and that no funding was used to procure or distribute condoms.

People are going to believe what they want. There are a lot of people who take Trump at his word; however, we can confidently say we didn’t give Hamas $50 million for condom bombs.


The Mary Sue is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more about our Affiliate Policy