Paris: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that militant Palestinians, not Israel, are to blame for deteriorating conditions in the Gaza Strip.
Rice's statement comes as the United States pledge to donate $555 million in aid for Palestinians next year.
More than 60 countries meet in Paris on Monday for fresh Middle East peace talks aimed at soliciting aid for the Palestinian government.
Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad admitted that the government needs quick cash to ease a huge budget deficit and help the quarter of a million poor residents in Gaza.
"The responsibility for what is happening in Gaza should be put directly on the shoulders of Hamas," Rice said as she flew to Paris for a gathering of world donors to Palestinians.
"It is the policies of Hamas that have led to its own isolation and by implication the Gaza as well," Rice said.
Israel and Egypt have tightened border restrictions into Hamas-controlled Gaza following what Israel said was border attack by Hamas rebels. Relief workers say some aid was blocked.
Hamas seized control of the seaside territory in June, handing an embarrassing defeat to forces loyal to the US-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
