UNRWA staff were allegedly involved in massacres in kibbutzim

The terrorist attack on Israel on October 7 resulted in a UN appeal for Palestinian refugees. The New York Times reported previously unknown details about the relationship between the relief organization's staff. An UNRWA worker was involved in kidnapping a woman from Israel, another distributed explosives and a third was involved in a massacre at a kibbutz in which 97 people died, the newspaper noted on Sunday (local time). Relevant Israeli document available from the US Government.

In total, the document contains allegations against twelve UNRWA staff members. More than half of them were working as teachers or in other capacities in UN aided agency schools on 7 October. Ten of the 12 accused are members of the Islamist terrorist organization Hamas. The employees have been accused of aiding Hamas in the October 7 attacks or supporting them in the days that followed. The New York Times wrote that there is currently no confirmation of the US government's allegations. But Washington considers them credible.

The serious charges against twelve of the thousands of UNRWA workers sparked worldwide outrage. After Israel provided relevant information to the aid organization, several Western countries temporarily suspended payments to the aid organization, including the United States, Germany, Great Britain and France.

According to a document now available to The New York Times, the allegations are based on information from the Israeli Secret Service. Among other things, he traced the movement of six UNRWA staff into Israel on 7 October using their phones. Others monitored phone conversations in which they discussed their role in the Hamas attack. A man has texted asking for rocket bombs stashed at his home.

In the October 7 massacre, terrorists from Hamas and other extremist Palestinian groups killed more than 1,200 people in Israel. More than 130 hostages, including children and women, are still believed to be held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Israel responded with massive airstrikes and ground attacks. According to the Hamas-controlled Health Authority, more than 26,000 people were killed.

The United Nations established UNRWA in 1949 to help Palestine refugees. Palestinians who fled or were expelled in 1948 and their descendants are entitled to their services. According to the organization, there are now about 5.9 million people. UNRWA has more than 30,000 employees, most of whom are Palestinians. The aid organization employs about 13,000 people in the Gaza Strip alone. It also operates in Jordan and Lebanon among other countries.

The organization provides basic services such as education and healthcare to Palestinian refugees. Since the start of the Gaza war, it has provided shelter and humanitarian assistance to hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people.