US halts foreign aid, absolves military funding for Israel, Egypt

The United States, the largest global donor, froze nearly all foreign aid on Friday, allowing exceptions only for emergency food relief and military funding for Israel and Egypt.

In an internal memo issued by Secretary of State Marco Rubio shortly after President Donald Trump took office, the administration emphasized its “America First” policy, significantly limiting overseas assistance.

“No new funds should be allocated for new projects or extensions of existing ones unless each proposal is thoroughly reviewed and approved,” stated the memo, as reported by AFP.

The directive broadly affects various forms of aid, including development and military assistance, such as the billions of dollars in weaponry previously provided to Ukraine under Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, to counter Russia’s invasion.

The policy also temporarily halts U.S. funding for PEPFAR, the anti-HIV/AIDS program that supplies life-saving antiretroviral drugs to developing nations, primarily in Africa.

Established in 2003 under President George W. Bush, PEPFAR is credited with saving approximately 26 million lives and had long enjoyed bipartisan support in Washington.

However, the memo explicitly excludes military aid to Israel, whose defense funding from the U.S. has increased following the Gaza conflict, and Egypt, which has benefited from U.S. military support since its 1979 peace treaty with Israel.