The report was highly anticipated. Nine employees of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) “may have been involved” in the Hamas attacks on October 7 in Israel, according to the UN’s internal investigation into 19 people accused by Israel.
In late January, Israeli authorities first accused 12 UNRWA employees of involvement in the October 7 attack by the Palestinian Islamist group, sparking a storm against the agency, the backbone of humanitarian aid in Gaza. Seven more names were later added to the list. The accusations prompted major donors to suspend funding for the agency, which has more than 30,000 employees serving 5.9 million Palestinians in the region, including 13,000 in Gaza. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres immediately called for an investigation by the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS).
In one case, “no evidence was obtained by OIOS to support the allegations” and in nine other cases, the evidence “was insufficient to support the involvement of employees,” Antonio Guterres’ deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq said on Monday.
“As for the other nine cases, the evidence obtained by (the OIOS) indicates that UNRWA employees may have been involved in the armed attacks of October 7,” he added, assuring that these individuals would be dismissed. “They cannot work for UNRWA,” insisted the agency’s head Philippe Lazzarini in a statement. The agency’s staff must “respect” the principles of the UN “internally and externally,” he added, insisting on the principle of “humanitarian neutrality.”
An international spokesman for the Israeli army, Nadav Shoshani, responded Monday night on X, saying the agency had reached “a new low” with the announcement of the investigation’s findings. “It is time for the world to see your true colors,” he added.
“Additional steps”
Stressing that the investigations by the UN internal services are confidential, Farhan Haq said he did not have more information on the content of the accusations and the evidence. But “we have enough information to take the actions that we are taking, which is to dismiss these nine individuals,” he said. “Beyond that, we will have to assess what additional steps are necessary to fully corroborate and evaluate” the information.
The investigators traveled to Israel to review Israeli information and to Amman, Jordan, to obtain information from UNRWA. But “because the information used by Israeli authorities to support their accusations remained in Israeli hands, OIOS was unable to independently authenticate most of the information,” Haq said. For security reasons, UN investigators also did not meet with the accused employees or potential witnesses, but they did receive recorded video statements from some of those involved, the UN said.
“Neutrality”
The October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, resulted in the deaths of 1,197 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli data. Of the 251 people kidnapped at the time, 111 are still being held in Gaza, including 39 who died, according to the army.
In response, Israel launched an offensive that has caused a humanitarian disaster and so far left 39,623 dead, according to data from the Hamas-run Gaza government’s health ministry, which does not detail the number of civilian and combatant deaths.
Following accusations against UNRWA that prompted major donors to suspend their financial participation, Antonio Guterres appointed an independent committee to assess the agency’s “neutrality”. In April, the committee, chaired by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, concluded that UNRWA had “persistent neutrality problems” and made recommendations to improve the functioning of this “irreplaceable” agency for aid to the Palestinians. Several donors have since announced the resumption of their funding.