Alleged UNRWA Involvement in 10/7 Attack Highlights Dangers of Agency
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) announced on January 25 it had dismissed several employees after Israeli authorities provided information reportedly demonstrating that 12 UNRWA staffers were involved in the October 7 attack, including six staffers that directly participated. Additionally, Israeli intelligence reportedly shows that 190 UNRWA staffers are documented Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) operatives, approximately 1,200 UNRWA staffers have direct ties to terrorist groups, and Hamas operatives help coordinate UNRWA aid deliveries.
These revelations should not come as a surprise, nor can be dismissed as just a few bad actors. UNRWA has long had a too-close-for-comfort relationship with Hamas, despite its putative role as a neutral humanitarian agency. The agency’s dismissal of a small handful of its staffers is too late and too little to fix its endemic problems or ensure that U.S. taxpayer money is not being used to pay or abet terrorists. Meanwhile, the U.S. announcement that it is pausing “additional” funding for UNRWA will still allow for the agency to receive at least $51 million in U.S. funding this year. Israel’s allegations, if proven accurate, should disqualify UNRWA from receiving any further U.S. funding.