In a dossier submitted to the U.S. government last week, Israel accused a dozen employees of the United Nations Palestinian and Palestinian Social Assistance Agency of being involved in the October 7 attack An estimated 1,200 people were killed in Hamas attacks in Israel. On Friday, the UN said it had fired several staff members in response to the allegations. So far, 11 countries – including the US – have frozen funding for UNRWA, the main aid agency responsible for educating, housing and feeding hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the war-torn Gaza Strip, where the reported death toll now exceeds 100,000 26,000. Here are the key facts you need to understand the controversy.
What is UNRWA?
UNRWA was established by the UN General Assembly in 1949 to provide assistance to all Palestinian refugees displaced by the 1948 war this followed the creation of Israel and the conflicts that followed. As a subsidiary of the United Nations, it provides basic food supplies, education, health care and social services. UNRWA is one of the largest employers in Gaza with 13,000 employees – most of them Palestinian.
What does Israel claim?
According to reports from the Associated Press and the New York Times – both of which obtained the dossier in question – Israel has claimed that ten of the UNRWA employees had ties to Hamas; that an eleventh employee belonged to the militant group Islamic Jihad; that seven UNRWA staff stormed Israeli territory on October 7; that someone kidnapped a woman from Israel; and that another brought the body of a dead Israeli soldier to Gaza after distributing ammunition and coordinating vehicles on the day of the attacks. In total, Israeli intelligence has determined that at least 190 UNRWA employees could be considered Hamas or Islamic Jihad operatives, the document said.
What evidence has Israel presented?
Israeli intelligence says it based its allegations on cell phone data showing movements inside Israel on October 7, calls to Gaza to discuss the Hamas attacks, and text messages instructing UNRWA staff to report to Israel on October 7 October at certain locations – including one in which an employee was asked to do so. According to the Times, he was equipped with rocket-propelled grenades that were stored in his home.
Other Western governments have yet to independently verify Israel's claims, but “American officials say they found them credible enough to justify suspending aid,” according to the Times. The United Nations condemned “the despicable acts” and fired nine of the accused workers. Two more people are reportedly dead and the last is still being identified as part of an ongoing investigation by the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services.
How did the US and other countries react?
In response to the allegations, 11 countries had suspended their payments to UNRWA by Monday afternoon: Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, Finland, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Iceland, Estonia and Japan. This represents at least $363 million of UNRWA's $1.6 billion budget.
“The United States is extremely concerned… [and] has temporarily suspended the provision of additional funding to UNRWA while we review these allegations and the steps the United Nations is taking to address them,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement last week. “Everyone involved in the heinous October 7 attacks must be held fully accountable.”
How did the UN react?
In addition to firing the accused staff, the United Nations has announced a “comprehensive and independent” review of UNRWA – a process that will help “immediately establish the truth,” said UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini. Lazzarini added that “any UNRWA staff member who was involved in terrorist attacks” would potentially be prosecuted.
But Lazzarini also warned of a looming humanitarian catastrophe if aid funds were withheld while a quarter of Gaza's population was at risk of starvation. The vast majority of Gazans rely on UNRWA assistance in some form, and Gaza's schools alone provide shelter for more than a million residents.
“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,” he said. “The lives of the people of Gaza depend on this support, as does regional stability.”
What is Israel's relationship with UNRWA?
Israel views UNRWA as an obstacle to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict because it “prevents the integration of Palestinian refugees into new communities and nurtures their dreams of one day returning to present-day Israel,” according to the Times – “a goal that Israel “It will never allow it.” And even before making its latest accusations, Israel has long insisted that UNRWA in the Gaza Strip is under the influence of Hamas, which it says uses the organization's facilities to store weapons and launching attacks – allegations that UNRWA has repeatedly denied.
Does this have any connection to the genocide allegations against Israel?
On Friday – the same day Israel's UNRWA allegations emerged – the United Nations' top judicial body issued a preliminary ruling on genocide allegations against Israel. After South Africa requested “interim measures” to stop Israel's military action while the International Court of Justice considered the broader genocide charge, the court ordered Israel to prevent acts prohibited under the 1948 Genocide Convention; to prohibit and punish statements that incite such actions; to allow more aid into Gaza; and report on progress in a month.