news

According to the Associated Press report on the 6th, the United Nations said that nine staff members working for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), a specialized agency of the United Nations to assist Palestinian refugees, will be fired because they "may have been involved" in the attack on Israel launched by the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) on October 7 last year.

On August 5 local time, the official website of the United Nations issued an announcement stating that after Israel accused UNRWA staff of participating in attacks on its territory, the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) launched an investigation earlier this year, but has so far been unable to independently identify the information used by Israel to support these accusations.

Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-GeneralPhoto source: United Nations

Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, told reporters in New York that investigators had completed their investigations into 19 staff members accused of involvement in the attack. The results showed that there was no evidence to support the allegations against one of them, and there was insufficient evidence to support the allegations against nine others. He said that the UN would take appropriate measures against these 10 people at the appropriate time in accordance with relevant regulations and rules.

As for the remaining nine, Haq said the UN's internal watchdog had obtained evidence that they "may have been involved in the attack." Asked about the extent of their alleged involvement, Haq replied that he had no specific information about the specific charges.

UNRWA Commissioner-General Filippo Lazzarini issued a statement confirming that the investigation had been completed. He said: "I have decided that these nine staff members can no longer work for UNRWA. In the interest of the Agency, all contracts of these staff members will be terminated."

After Israel accused 12 staff members of participating in the attack in January this year, UNRWA immediately fired 10 of them, and the remaining two have been confirmed dead. Since then, Israel has accused another seven people. According to the Associated Press, in addition to the dismissals, UNRWA also suspended seven staff members without pay. Juliet Touma, director of communications for UNRWA, said that some of the nine people the United Nations announced on August 5 to fire had been previously dealt with. The report said that the United Nations did not specify the total number of people fired so far.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein posted on social media platform X that Israel once again called on donors to suspend funding for UNRWA "because these funds may flow to terrorists." The Associated Press mentioned that after Israel made relevant accusations, some countries temporarily suspended funding for the agency, causing a cash shortage of about $450 million. After that, all donors except the United States have decided to resume funding.

According to the Associated Press, during this round of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, UNRWA, which has about 13,000 employees in the Gaza Strip, has been the main agency distributing aid to local Palestinians, and Israel has repeatedly demanded the agency's closure. Israel has long accused UNRWA of cooperating with Hamas and turning a blind eye to the activities of Hamas personnel, while some Israeli extremists have set fire to the area around the agency's headquarters in East Jerusalem.

UNRWA denies collaborating with Hamas, pointing out that more than 200 of its staff have been killed and 190 of its facilities have been damaged during this round of conflict, including UN-run schools that have been converted into shelters for displaced Palestinians.

Source: Global Times