The United Nations agency charged with delivering aid to Palestinians has fired staff members accused of being involved in the Oct. 7 attacks against Israel, in which 1,200 people were killed.
A statement posted to the United Nations Relief and Works agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) website on Friday morning says Israeli authorities provided information to the agency about the alleged involvement of several UNRWA employees in the attacks.
The statement does not name Hamas, the group behind the attacks on Oct. 7, 2023.
“To protect the Agency’s ability to deliver humanitarian assistance, I have taken the decision to immediately terminate the contracts of these staff members and launch an investigation in order to establish the truth without delay,” the statement quotes UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini as saying.
“Any UNRWA employee who was involved in acts of terror will be held accountable, including through criminal prosecution.”
The statement calls the allegations “shocking.” It states that more than two million people depend on lifesaving assistance UNRWA delivers.
U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the U.S. is “extremely troubled” by the allegations that “12 UNRWA employees” may have been involved in the Hamas attack.
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“The Department of State has temporarily paused additional funding for UNRWA while we review these allegations and the steps the United Nations is taking to address them,” Miller said.
Global News reached out to the State Department to ask how much aid it was freezing and where that aid would have been directed. The State Department did not immediately respond.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres about the allegations, according to the statement.
“We welcome the decision to conduct such an investigation and Secretary General Guterres’ pledge to take decisive action to respond, should the allegations prove accurate. We also welcome the UN’s announcement of a “comprehensive and independent” review of UNRWA. There must be complete accountability for anyone who participated in the heinous attacks of October 7,” the statement said.
The statement also says that the U.S. has reached out to Israel’s government for more information and that it stays in close contact with the Knesset and the UN.
The United Nations General Assembly founded UNRWA in 1949 to help registered Palestinian refugees. It operates in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.
Nearly 26,000 Palestinians have been killed and 63,740 injured in Israel’s attacks on Gaza since Oct. 7, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry, including 210 killed in the past 24 hours.
— with files from Reuters
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