Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Gaza Ministry of Health: Direct threats to residential areas surrounding hospitals are part of "Israel’s" systematic plan targeting the healthcare system
Gaza Ministry of Health: We renew our urgent appeal to the relevant authorities to intervene and protect healthcare institutions
Gaza Ministry of Health: We warn against reaching the point of a complete collapse of the healthcare system in the southern part of the Strip
Gaza Health Ministry: Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis going out of service would lead to a humanitarian disaster with unpredictable consequences
Palestinian sources: Several displaced Palestinians were reportedly injured after being targeted by occupation forces while waiting for aid west of Rafah
Israeli media: A senior European Union official hinted that 'Israel' would be held accountable for violating international law in Gaza
Al-Qassam Brigades spokesperson Abu Obeida: The losses incurred by the occupation today in Khan Younis and Jabalia are an extension of a series of top-tier operations
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon: The invading Israeli force is digging a trench and erecting earthen berms, amid detected activity suggesting preparations to install espionage equipment
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon: An Israeli force breaches the "technical fence" in the Wazzani area
Israeli media: 4 Israeli soldiers killed in the Gaza Strip

US halts foreign aid, exempting 'Israel' and Egypt

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: The Guardian
  • 25 Jan 2025 09:12
3 Min Read

An internal memo to US State Department staff specifically exempts military aid to "Israel" and Egypt from the Washington decision.

Listen
  • x
  • US Secretary of State Marco Rubio waves to employees upon arriving at the State Department in Washington, on January 21, 2025. (AFP)
    US Secretary of State Marco Rubio waves to employees upon arriving at the State Department in Washington, on January 21, 2025. (AFP)

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has ordered a near-total halt to US foreign aid, with explicit exceptions for military funding to "Israel" and Egypt, The Guardian reported citing an internal State Department memo.

“No new funds shall be obligated for new awards or extensions of existing awards until each proposed new award or extension has been reviewed and approved…as consistent with President Trump’s agenda,” the memo stated.

This broad directive appears to encompass all forms of aid, from development assistance to military support, potentially including Ukraine.

Ukraine has received billions in weapons under President Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, to counter Russia.

Why it matters

The memo, however, specifically exempts military aid to "Israel"—whose arms packages from the US expanded significantly during the war on Gaza—and Egypt, which has benefited from substantial defense funding since signing a peace treaty with "Israel" in 1979.

Related News

US imposes sanctions on ICC judges over Netanyahu arrest warrant

Medinsky leads Russian delegation to Istanbul despite sabotage attacks

On his first day in office, Trump issued a 90-day freeze on foreign development assistance to evaluate its alignment with his foreign policy and efficiency goals. However, the full scope of the order remains unclear, and questions persist about its legality, as Congress controls the federal budget.

“Freezing these international investments will lead our international partners to seek other funding partners—likely US competitors and adversaries—to fill this hole and displace the United States’ influence the longer this unlawful impoundment continues,” a source familiar with Congressional discussions, speaking anonymously, said as quoted by The Guardian.

The State Department memo instructed senior officials to ensure that “to the maximum extent permitted by law, no new obligations shall be made for foreign assistance” until Rubio completes a review. It also called for immediate stop-work orders on existing projects until further evaluation.

“This is manufactured chaos,” said a former senior official from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“Organizations will have to stop all activities, so all lifesaving health services, HIV/Aids, nutrition, maternal and child health, all agriculture work, all support of civil society organizations, education,” he told The Guardian.

A USAID officer confirmed that projects in Ukraine, including school support and emergency health care such as maternal services and vaccinations, have been paused.

Driving the news

Rubio will decide over the next 85 days whether to continue, modify, or terminate programs, with the ability to grant waivers during the review period. According to the memo, he has already approved a waiver for emergency food assistance and foreign military financing for "Israel" and Egypt, as well as administrative expenses necessary to manage this funding.

"Israel" currently receives approximately $3.3 billion annually in foreign military financing, while Egypt receives $1.3 billion. Other countries slated for such financing in 2025 include Ukraine, Georgia, the Baltic states, Taiwan, Indonesia, and several others, per a request made by Biden’s administration.

The freeze comes at a time of increased humanitarian aid to Gaza following a ceasefire between "Israel" and the Palestinian Resistance, as well as other global hunger crises, including in Sudan.

  • Marco Rubio
  • United States
  • US state department
  • Egypt
  • Russia
  • Israeli aggression
  • Israel
  • foreign US aid
  • Gaza genocide
  • Israeli occupation
  • Ukraine

Most Read

Lebanon's PM Nawaf Salam meets with US envoy Morgan Ortagus in Beirut on April 5, 2025 (Dalati Nohra via AP)AP)

Morgan Ortagus to exit US role in Lebanon amid policy shift

  • Politics
  • 1 Jun 2025
A Palestinian woman mourns as she embraces the body of her daughter Mayar Abu Odeh, 8, who was killed in an Israeli army strike on Gaza. at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, Wednesday, June 4, 2025. (AP)

French port workers block arms shipment to 'Israel' amid Gaza genocide

  • Politics
  • 4 Jun 2025
It may well be due to the longstanding relationship between MI6 and HTS, via Inter Mediate, that Britain was the first Western country to recognise their assumption of government in Syria. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab El-Hajj)

How MI6 helped HTS seize Syria

  • Opinion
  • 31 May 2025
Palestinians struggle to get donated food at a community kitchen in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Monday, June 2, 2025. (AP)

Boston Consulting Group withdraws from GHF

  • Palestine
  • 3 Jun 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/pentagon-chief--nato-likely-to-back-trump-s-5--defence-spend
Politics

Europe spent $3 trillion on defense, but got little in return - FT

Power, parties, and scandal: Trump’s ties to Epstein: Telegraph
Europe

Power, parties, and scandal: Trump’s ties to Epstein - The Telegraph

Eilat port as seen from the sea, occupied Palestine, March 12 2009 (wikimedia commons)
Politics

YAF operations forced 80% plunge in Eilat port revenues in 2024

EU backs International Criminal Court after US sanctions judges
Europe

EU backs International Criminal Court after US sanctions judges

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS