The United Nations aid agency staffers accused of taking part in Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel included some who provided rocket-propelled grenades — as well as others who actively killed and kidnapped Israelis, according to a damning dossier of intel given to the US.
At least 10 of the 12 fired last week by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) were active members of Hamas, while another was affiliated with the Islamic Jihad, according to the dossier obtained by the New York Times.
Israeli officials said they tracked the movements of UN aid workers on the day of the attack, using phone records and phone calls.
As well as using the agency as a cover, the terrorists also worked by day as terrorists and even teachers and other school employees, according to the dossier, which gave names for the staffers that were not published by the Times.
They found that at least one was told via text message to bring rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) he kept at his house with him, the dossier reports.
A social worker also gave out ammo, coordinated vehicles and took the body of a dead Israeli soldier back with him to Gaza, according to the Israeli intel
A school counselor from southern Gaza teamed up with his son to abduct a woman who became one of the more than 200 hostages taken by Hamas terrorists that day, according to the dossier.
In total, Israeli officials say a dozen employees from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency actively took part in the terrorist attack — prompting the aid agency to announce on Friday that it fired nine of the staffers who were still alive, as an investigation continues.
Two others have since died, according to the agency.
The US immediately cut funding to the agency in the wake of the allegations, the State Department said — marking a significant reversal from the Biden administration’s strong support for UNRWA.
“The United States is extremely troubled by the allegations that 12 UNRWA employees may have been involved in the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel,” the department’s statement said.
Other nations including Canada, Italy, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Finland have since announced they were pausing any additional aid to the agency.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell also said the 27-member bloc was looking to “assess further steps and draw lessons based on the result of the full and comprehensive investigation.”
But Hamas has slammed Israeli “threats” against UNRWA, urging the UN and other international groups not to “cave into the threats of blackmail.”
The Palestinian Authority is also urging countries to reverse their suspension of funds, calling for “maximum support for this international organization and not stopping support and assistance to it.”
And over the weekend, UNRWA’s commissioner-general, Philippe Lazzarini, argued, “It would be immensely irresponsible to sanction an agency and an entire community it serves because of allegations of criminal acts against some individuals, especially at a time of war, displacement and political crises in the region.
“The lives of people in Gaza depend on this support, and so does regional stability.”
Johann Soufi, a lawyer and former director of the UNRWA legal office in Gaza, also said the agency “always had a zero-tolerance policy for violence and incitement to hatred.
“Sanctioning UNRWA, which is barely keeping the entire population of Gaza alive, for the alleged responsibility of a few employees, is tantamount to collectively punishing the Gazan population, which is living in catastrophic humanitarian conditions.”
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