Israel accused UNRWA officials of participating in the October 7 episode; the aid agency promised to investigate.
Israel’s accusation that employees of UNRWA – the UN agency that assists Palestinian refugees – were involved in the Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023 has triggered an internal investigation, dismissals and reactions from states United States, which announced a suspension of funding to the agency.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said he was “shocked” by the accusation and called for a swift investigation.
Hamas killed 1,300 people, most of them civilians, in an unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7. Another 250 people were taken hostage. The episode triggered an Israeli offensive against the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip that has killed more than 26,000 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry.
In announcing its decision to temporarily suspend funding to UNRWA, the US State Department said it was “deeply concerned” by allegations of alleged involvement of UN personnel in the attacks.
UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini said on Friday (26/1) that, based on information from Israel, he had placed several employees under investigation and fired some.
“To protect the agency’s ability to provide humanitarian assistance, I have decided to immediately terminate the employment of these employees and launch an investigation to establish the truth without delay,” Lazzarini said in a statement.
“Any official involved in the terrorist acts will be held accountable, including in criminal proceedings. UNRWA reiterates its condemnation, in the strongest terms, of the abhorrent attacks of 7 October and calls for the unconditional release of the Israeli hostages (… ).”
At the same time, Lazzarini said that “these shocking allegations come at a time when more than 2 million people in Gaza depend on the vital assistance the agency has provided since the war began. Anyone who betrays these fundamental values of the United Nations also betrays the people we serve in Gaza, in the region and around the world.”
Mark Regev, an Israeli government advisor, told the BBC that “people receiving salaries” from UNRWA were involved in what happened on October 7 and that teachers working in UNRWA schools “openly celebrated” the attacks of Hamas.
He also referred to an Israeli hostage who, when released, said he had been held captive “in the house of someone who worked for UNRWA.”
“They have a union controlled by Hamas, and I think it’s time for the United Nations to investigate these ties between UNRWA and Hamas,” Regev said.
Calling for an investigation into the case, António Guterres said that any agency employee who proves to have “participated or assisted” in the October 7 episode will be fired and referred to criminal charges.
The White House said it will determine next steps based on “the outcome of a broad and thorough investigation.”
The United States, Germany and the European Union bloc are among UNRWA’s largest donors. The agency provides education, health services and humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, but says it is facing increasing difficulties in assisting nearly 75% of Gaza’s population, who have been displaced by conflict in recent months . .
Physical UN facilities where Gaza residents were sheltering were hit by Israeli airstrikes. Last Thursday (25/1), 12 people died in the bombing of a United Nations shelter in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.
Source: Terra
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