US suspends funding for UN mission in Gaza Strip - its staff suspected of working for Hamas
UNRWA staff who "participated in terrorist attacks" will be brought to justice, the agency promises
The US State Department is temporarily suspending funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). According to the State Department's statement, this decision was made in connection with suspicions that the agency's employees in the Gaza Strip could have been involved in organizing the Hamas militants' invasion of Israel on October 7 last year.
The UN and the UNRWA leadership, headed by Filippe Lazzarini, have launched an investigation. The decision to resume funding will be made based on the results of the investigation.
According to Mr. Lazzarini, the Israeli side provided information about the possible involvement of several UNRWA employees in the attack. At the same time, he said, the agency has already terminated their employment contracts, and if the suspicions are confirmed, "any UNRWA employee who participated in terrorist acts" will be brought to criminal responsibility.
Lazzarini emphasized that UNRWA "strongly condemns the heinous attacks carried out on October 7 and calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all Israeli hostages and their safe return to their families."
"These shocking accusations come at a time when more than two million people in Gaza are dependent on the life-saving assistance the agency has been providing since the start of the war. Anyone who betrays the fundamental values of the United Nations also betrays those we serve in Gaza, across the region and elsewhere around the world," he said in a statement.
UN Secretary-General spokesman Stephane Dujarric told Reuters that Antonio Guterres had also read the materials and was "horrified" by what he saw.
Earlier, Israel and international human rights organizations claimed that Hamas was using UNRWA missions in the Gaza Strip, as well as schools and hospitals operating under the auspices of the UN, to deploy military headquarters, weapons depots and rocket launchers for attacks on Israel.
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