UN staff fired over possible links to the 7 October attack
Nine staff members at the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) may have been involved in the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, according to the United Nations.
UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq announced that all nine individuals would have their employment terminated following an investigation into the allegations made by Israel regarding UNRWA staff involvement.
The October attack resulted in the deaths of about 1,200 people, with 251 others taken as hostages back to Gaza. Since then, the Israeli military operation in Gaza has led to the deaths of over 38,400 Palestinians, as reported by the Hamas-run health ministry.
Mr. Haq did not specify the exact nature of the staff member’s involvement in the attacks.
“For us, any participation in the attacks is a tremendous betrayal of the sort of work that we are supposed to be doing on behalf of the Palestinian people,” Haq stated.
An Israeli Defense Forces spokesperson commented that the report indicated a “new low” for UNRWA.
The UN’s investigation examined 19 UNRWA staff members following Israel’s claims that 12 participated in the attack. Israel later alleged that over 450 UNRWA staff members were part of terrorist groups, but a UN review published in April found that Israel had not provided evidence to support these claims.
Aside from the nine employees who the UN said may have had links to the 7 October attack, its report found no evidence of involvement in one case and insufficient evidence in the case of nine others.
UNRWA, which employs 13,000 people in Gaza, said in March that some of its employees reported being pressured by Israeli authorities into making false statements while in detention.
Most countries withdrew funding for the UN agency because of the Israeli allegations.
In July, the UK joined other countries that had resumed funding since then, leaving the US, UNRWA’s single biggest donor, as the only country not to have restarted donations.
UNRWA has provided aid for Palestinian refugees since 1949.
