The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees fired a number of its staffers in Gaza suspected of taking part in the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas and other militants on southern Israel, its director said Friday, prompting the United States — the agency’s biggest donor — to temporary halt its funding.
Quick Read
- UNRWA Staffers Fired Over Attack Allegations: The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) dismisses several staff suspected of involvement in the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on southern Israel.
- U.S. Halts Funding to UNRWA: The United States, UNRWA’s largest donor, temporarily suspends funding following these allegations.
- UNRWA’s Role in Gaza: The agency has been crucial in providing aid amid the humanitarian crisis caused by Israel’s offensive in Gaza.
- Investigation Initiated: UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini orders an investigation after Israel alleges staff members’ participation in the attack.
- Details of the Oct. 7 Attack: Hamas and other militants’ attack killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and involved kidnapping.
- UNRWA’s Staff in Gaza: The agency employs 13,000 staff in Gaza, with the allegations currently targeting 12 employees.
- Impact of Israel’s Offensive: Over 26,000 Palestinians have been killed, and more than 64,400 wounded since the war began.
- Mass Displacement in Gaza: The conflict has driven over 1.7 million people from their homes, many sheltering in facilities run by UNRWA.
- Reliance on International Aid: Gaza’s population largely depends on aid due to Israel’s stringent restrictions.
- US’s Funding Pause: The U.S. pauses additional funding, awaiting a comprehensive U.N. review of UNRWA.
- Evacuation in Khan Younis: Intense fighting prompts mass evacuation in southern Gaza.
- Background of Hamas Leaders: Key Hamas figures, including Yehya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif, originated from Khan Younis refugee camp.
- Casualties in Central Gaza: Israeli airstrikes in Nuseirat camp result in at least 15 deaths, including a baby.
- UN Court’s Order: The International Court of Justice orders Israel to prevent death and genocide in Gaza but doesn’t demand a halt to military actions.
- Aid Distribution Challenges: Northern Gaza faces difficulties in receiving aid due to fighting and Israeli restrictions.
- Food Shortages in Gaza City: Basic food items are scarce, leading residents to resort to animal feed.
The Associated Press has the story:
US pauses funding to UNRWA after claims staffers were involved in Hamas attack
Newslooks- DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) —
The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees fired a number of its staffers in Gaza suspected of taking part in the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas and other militants on southern Israel, its director said Friday, prompting the United States — the agency’s biggest donor — to temporary halt its funding.
The agency, known by its acronym UNRWA, has been the main agency providing aid for Gaza’s population amid the humanitarian disaster caused by Israel’s offensive against Hamas in Gaza triggered by the Oct. 7 attack. UNRWA officials did comment on the impact that the U.S. halt in funding would have on its operations.
UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said it terminated contracts with “several” employees and ordered an investigation after Israel provided information alleging they played a role in the attack. The U.S. State Department said there were allegations against 12 employees. UNRWA has 13,000 staffers in Gaza, almost all of them Palestinians, ranging from teachers in schools that the agency runs to doctors, medical staff and aid workers.
In a statement, Lazzarini called the allegations “shocking” and said any employee “involved in acts of terror will be held accountable, including through criminal prosecution.”
He did not elaborate on what the staffers’ alleged role was in the attacks. In the unprecedented surprise attack, Hamas fighters broke through the security fence surrounding Gaza and stormed nearby Israeli communities, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping some 250. Other militants joined the rampage.
“UNRWA reiterates its condemnation in the strongest possible terms of the abhorrent attacks of 7 October” and calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all Israeli hostages, Lazzarini said.
Since the war’s start, Israel’s assault has killed more than 26,000 Palestinians, most women and children, and wounded more than 64,400 others, Gaza’s Health Ministry said Friday. The ministry does not differentiate between combatants and civilians in its death toll. More than 150 UNWRA employees are among those killed — the highest toll the world body has suffered in a conflict — and a number of U.N. shelters have been hit in bombardment.
More than 1.7 million of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been driven from their homes by the war — with hundreds of thousands of them crowded into schools and other shelters run by UNRWA.
Israel’s near-complete seal on Gaza has left almost the entire population reliant on a trickle of international aid able to enter the territory each day. U.N. officials say about a quarter of the population now faces starvation.
The U.S. State Department said it was “extremely troubled” by the allegations against the UNRWA staffers and has temporarily paused additional funding for the agency. It said the U.N. had promised a “comprehensive and independent” review of UNRWA. The U.S. is the biggest donor to the agency, providing it $340 million in 2022 and several hundred million in 2023.
Thousands of Palestinians fled the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis on Friday as fighting between Hamas militants and Israeli forces intensified. Families were seen traveling on foot down roads, carrying possessions as smoke filed the skies above them.
Also Friday, the Israeli military ordered residents of three Khan Younis neighborhoods and the refugee camp in the city to evacuate to a coastal area. The military said its troops were engaging in close urban combat with Hamas fighters around the city.
The Khan Younis camp, like others in Gaza, was initially settled by Palestinians who fled or were driven from their homes during the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation and has since been built up into an urbanized district. The leader of Hamas in Gaza, Yehya Sinwar, and the commander of the group’s military wing, Mohammed Deif, both grew up in the Khan Younis refugee camp.
In central Gaza, the other main focus of Israel’s offensive currently, Israeli airstrikes on the Nuseirat urban refugee camp overnight killed at least 15 people, including a 5-month-old baby, an AP journalist at the hospital where the casualties were taken said.
The intense fighting came as the United Nations’ top court ordered Israel to do all it can to prevent death, destruction and any acts of genocide in Gaza. But the International Court of Justice stopped short Friday of ordering it to end the military offensive. South Africa has accused Israel of genocide in its offensive, and the court dismissed a request by Israel, which rejects the accusation, that the case be thrown out.
Aid groups have struggled to bring food, medicines and other supplies to northern Gaza, where Israel’s ground invasion first targeted and where Israel says it now largely has control.
Uday Samir, a 23-year old Gaza City native, said many of the basic foods such as flour, lentils and rice are now impossible to find across the city.
“Now, what is available is animal feed,” said Samir. “We grind it and bake it.”
All supplies enter Gaza in the south, either through the Egyptian-controlled Rafah border crossing or Israel’s Kerem Shalom crossing. Aid groups say fighting and Israeli restrictions have made deliveries to the north difficult. When convoys do travel north, supplies are often snatched by hungry Palestinian before the trucks reach their destination.
