Nine employees of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNWRA, may have been involved in the Hamas-led October 7 attack on Israel, the United Nations says.
All nine would have their jobs terminated, said UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq.
He said the UN had completed an investigation following allegations by Israel that UNWRA officials were involved.
Around 1,200 people were killed and another 251 were taken back to Gaza as hostages in last autumn’s unprecedented attack. Since the attack, the Israeli military operation in Gaza has killed more than 38,400 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health.
Haq did not specify what the men’s exact involvement may have been.
“For us, any participation in the attacks is a tremendous betrayal of the kind of work we should be doing on behalf of the Palestinian people,” he said.
An Israel Defense Forces spokesperson said the report shows UNWRA has reached a “new low.”
The UN investigated a total of 19 UNWRA staff members, after Israel alleged that 12 participated in the attack.
Israel later alleged that more than 450 UNWRA employees were members of terrorist groups, but a UN analysis published in April concluded that Israel had not provided evidence for its claims.
UNRWA, which employs 13,000 people in Gaza, said in March that some of its staff reported being pressured by Israeli authorities to make false statements while in detention.
Most countries withdrew funding from the UN agency because of the Israeli allegations.
In July, the UK joined other countries that had since resumed funding, leaving the US, UNRWA’s largest single donor, as the only country that has not restarted donations.
