A United Nations investigation found that nine employees from its agency that focuses on the Palestinian territories “may” have participated in the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack in southern Israel.
The Office of Internal Oversight Services investigated 19 U.N. Relief and Works Agency staff members accused of participating in the terrorist attack that left roughly 1,200 people dead and found one accused staff member was cleared of wrongdoing and that there was “insufficient” evidence to support the accusation for nine others. Investigators found that in the remaining nine cases, “the evidence — if authenticated and corroborated — could indicate that the UNRWA staff members may have been involved in the attacks of 7 October,” according to a statement from UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini.
The person absolved of wrongdoing has rejoined the agency.
Two of the 19 people investigated were confirmed as deceased, though Lazzarini did not specify if they were killed in the war or otherwise.
The allegations were first brought to the agency’s attention in January, and at that point, UNRWA “terminated the contracts of the staff in question,” per Lazzarini, and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres ordered the investigation as a result. Additional allegations were raised in March and April, and those were also investigated.
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan called the investigation “a disgrace” and said it is “too little and too late.” He alleged that the investigators “ignored the thousands of agency employees involved in the terrorist activities of Hamas and the scope of its involvement” and said they had “provided the U.N. with precise details of over a hundred UNRWA employees who are members of the terrorist organization Hamas.”
Israel has not publicly released detailed information to confirm that “thousands” of UNRWA employees are connected to Hamas. Israel has long been critical of the UNRWA.
Earlier allegations of ties between UNRWA and Hamas prompted the U.S. and several Western countries to pause their financial contributions to the U.N. agency, while some have restarted their funding. Sixteen countries paused their funding totaling $450 million.
On the morning of Oct. 7, thousands of Palestinian militants overpowered the border fence and went into local communities, where they killed men, women, and children. Some terrorists traversed into an outdoor concert venue near the border and killed hundreds of attendees. Hamas also captured and kidnapped about 250 people, about 100 of whom are still being held in Gaza.
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Israel’s retaliatory war against Hamas in Gaza, which has now gone on for more than nine months, has devastated the enclave. The Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry has reported that about 40,000 people have died, though that total includes both civilians and combatants. Palestinians are facing significant humanitarian concerns, including the potential for both disease and famine.
Hamas strategically hides and operates in or underneath large civilian population centers, including schools, mosques, and hospitals. Its strategy is to have those civilians deter an Israeli attack targeting its militants or force the Israelis to risk civilian casualties.