UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher has demanded that Israel provide evidence for its accusations that staff with the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs were affiliated with Palestinian militants Hamas, according to a letter seen by Reuters on Friday.

In May, Trump secured the release of Edan Alexander, the last US Israeli citizen held hostage after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, surprise attack on southern Israel, which killed about 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and started the latest war. Alexander, who grew up in Tenafly, NJ, had been serving in the Israeli military when he was captured.

Democratic Rep. Ritchie Torres declared that those who will not condemn Hamas over the heinous actions perpetrated on Oct. 7, 2023 "have no business" describing themselves as humanitarians.

President Donald Trump indicated on Friday that a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas would be unlikely, and suggested that Hamas was losing its ability to negotiate.

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.

Cease-fire negotiations between Israel, Hamas, and the U.S. have broken down, with President Trump’s special envoy blaming Hamas for the impasse. Meanwhile, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is rapidly escalating.