The United Nations aid agency staffers accused of participating in Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel included some who supplied rocket-propelled grenades — in addition to others who actively killed and kidnapped Israelis, in keeping with a damning file of intel given to the US.
At least 10 of the 12 fired final week by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) have been lively members of Hamas, whereas one other was affiliated with the Islamic Jihad, in keeping with the file obtained by the New York Times.
Israeli officers stated they tracked the actions of UN aid staff on the day of the attack, utilizing cellphone information and cellphone calls.
As effectively as utilizing the agency as a canopy, the terrorists additionally labored by day as terrorists and even academics and different college staff, in keeping with the file, which gave names for the staffers that weren’t printed by the Times.
They discovered that at the very least one was informed by way of textual content message to carry rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) he saved at his home with him, the file experiences.
A social employee additionally gave out ammo, coordinated automobiles and took the physique of a useless Israeli soldier again with him to Gaza, in keeping with the Israeli intel
A college counselor from southern Gaza teamed up along with his son to abduct a girl who turned one of many greater than 200 hostages taken by Hamas terrorists that day, in keeping with the file.
One different was additionally described as participating in a bloodbath at a kibbutz, the place practically 100 folks have been slaughtered.
In whole, Israeli officers say a dozen staff from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency actively took half in the terrorist attack — prompting the aid agency to announce on Friday that it fired 9 of the staffers who have been nonetheless alive, as an investigation continues.
Two others have since died, in keeping with the agency.
The US instantly minimize funding to the agency in the wake of the allegations, the State Department stated — marking a major reversal from the Biden administration’s sturdy help 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 division’s assertion stated.
Other nations together with Canada, Italy, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Finland have since introduced they have been pausing any further aid to the agency.
EU overseas coverage chief Josep Borrell additionally stated 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” towards UNRWA, urging the UN and different worldwide teams to not “cave into the threats of blackmail.”
The Palestinian Authority can also be urging international locations 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 can be immensely irresponsible to sanction an agency and a whole group it serves due to allegations of legal acts towards some people, particularly at a time of warfare, displacement and political crises in the area.
“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 authorized workplace in Gaza, additionally stated the agency “all the time had a zero-tolerance coverage 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.”
