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Home » UN » Details on the participation of UN employees who helped Hamas in the massacre in southern Israel
Details on the involvement of UN employees who helped Hamas in the massacre in southern Israel
January 29, 2024
Israeli authorities have revealed evidence linking UNRWA employees in Gaza to the deadly Hamas attack on Israel.
Within these accusations, one individual was accused of kidnapping a woman, while another distributed ammunition. A third took part in the brutal attack on a kibbutz, where 97 people were murdered, with entire families among the victims. These subjects were part of the staff of the United Nations agency in charge of the education, housing and feeding of numerous Palestinians in Gaza.
The accusations are detailed in a report submitted to the United States government, setting out Israel's allegations against approximately a dozen United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) workers involved in the Hamas massacre against Israel on September 7. October or later events.
After being informed of these serious accusations, the UN announced on Friday the dismissal of several employees. Eight countries, including the United States, have reacted by suspending some funding to UNRWA. These workers are accused of collaborating with Hamas in organizing the attack that sparked the war in Gaza or subsequently assisting them. That day, 1,200 people were massacred in Israel, and approximately 240 people were violently kidnapped and taken to Gaza.
The Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, expressed his “horror” at these accusations on Sunday, confirming the dismissal of nine of the 12 designated employees. However, he urged countries that suspended their aid to reconsider, highlighting UNRWA's key role as one of the largest employers in Gaza, with 13,000 workers .
Regarding Israel's allegations, UNRWA said on Sunday that two of the 12 accused have died, but could not provide further details due to an ongoing investigation by the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services.
Western officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed having received details of the dossier, but have not yet verified its contents. The United States, despite not having corroborated Israel's claims, considered them serious enough to justify suspending aid.
One of the designated employees, a warehouse manager, appears dressed in UN clothing on his social networks, and is listed as an UNRWA employee . The Israeli document delivered to US officials details the names, jobs and accusations against these employees.
According to the report, Israeli intelligence officers tracked the movements of six of the men in Israel on October 7 using their phones. Others were monitored while making calls in Gaza, discussing their involvement in the Hamas attack. Additionally, three received text messages with instructions to meet on October 7, and one was ordered to bring rocket-propelled grenades stored in his home .
Israeli authorities identified 10 of the defendants as members of Hamas, the terrorist organization that dominated Gaza on the date of the October 7 attack. An additional one was linked to another terrorist group, Islamic Jihad. Among the accused, seven worked as mathematics and Arabic teachers in UNRWA schools . Two more occupied different roles in these educational institutions, and the remaining three worked as employees, social workers and warehouse managers.
Within the file, the case of a school counselor from Khan Yunis, in the south of Gaza, accused of collaborating with his son in the kidnapping of a woman in Israel, is especially detailed . Also, a social worker from Nuseirat in central Gaza faces accusations of facilitating the transport of the body of a murdered Israeli soldier to Gaza, as well as distributing ammunition and coordinating vehicles on the day of the attack .
These accusations emerge in a context of long tension between Israel and UNRWA. Since 1949, this agency has cared for the families of Arabs who were displaced to enable the destruction of the newly created State of Israel. UNRWA recognizes not only the original 700,000 displaced people as Palestinian refugees, but also their more than 5 million descendants, thus perpetuating their refugee status.
UNRWA provides essential assistance to more than five million of these “Palestinian refugees” scattered across the Middle East. The resolution of his future and status, according to the agency, depends on the recognition of his “right of return” to what is now Israel, a possibility that Israel rules out.
For experts on refugee issues, the existence of UNRWA is an obstacle to peace. They argue that their presence prevents the integration of Palestinian refugees into new communities and fuels the hope of a return to Israel, a goal that Israel considers inadmissible. In Gaza, Israel accuses UNRWA of being a logistical arm of Hamas, an allegation the agency denies.
This is not the first time that the United States has suspended its funding to UNRWA. The Trump administration already did so as a measure of pressure on Palestinian leaders. But the agency's current financial crisis is seen as the most critical, especially at a time of emergency for Gaza. UNRWA, unlike other UN agencies, lacks financial reserves. Guterres warned on Sunday of a possible reduction in services from February.
Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner general of UNRWA, warned of an “imminent catastrophe.” He criticized the idea of sanctioning the agency and the community it serves for criminal acts of individuals, even more so in times of war and crisis. “Lives in Gaza and regional stability depend on this support,” Lazzarini emphasized..
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