1 in 1 People queue to get help at a UN relief center for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) Photo: Louai Beshara / AFP People queue to get help at a UN relief center for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) Photo : Louai Beshara / AFP
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for the Palestinians (UNRWA) announced on Friday (26) that it had opened an investigation into officials suspected of involvement in the October 7 Hamas attacks in Israel.
The agency, which is the U.N. department in the Gaza Strip, said the staff had been fired pending an investigation.
“The Israeli authorities have provided UNRWA with information about the suspected involvement of several UNRWA officials in the horrific attacks on Israel on October 7,” said Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner General of UNRWA.
“In order to protect the agency's ability to provide humanitarian assistance, I have made the decision to rimmediately terminate the contracts of these employees and immediately initiate an investigation to find out the truthLazzarini also said. “These shocking allegations come at a time when more than 2 million people in Gaza rely on the vital assistance the agency has provided since the start of the war.”
Because of the officials' alleged involvement, the United States announced it would temporarily stop transferring additional funds to UNRWA. The country was one of the largest donors in 2022, alongside Germany, the European Union and Sweden.
The Americans have already declared that the ability to provide humanitarian assistance to the population of Gaza is on the verge of collapse.
UNRWA has provided assistance and used its facilities to shelter people fleeing shelling and an Israeli ground offensive in Gaza following the October 7 attacks, in which Israel said 1,200 people died and 253 people were taken hostage.
The Israeli offensive, in turn, devastated large parts of the densely populated Gaza Strip and killed more than 25,000 Palestinians.
Founded in 1949 after the first ArabIsraeli war, UNRWA provides services such as education, basic health care and humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.