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this United Nations said on Monday it had fired some staff members of its Palestinian Refugee Affairs Department after an internal investigation found they may have been involved in the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack on Palestinian refugees. Israel.
The move was announced in a brief statement to reporters by the UN Secretary-General’s office. Farhan Haq, the secretary-general’s deputy spokesman, did not elaborate. UNRWA Any role the staff member may have played in the attack, or evidence of the decisions that led to their decision.
UNRWA had previously fired 12 staff members and suspended seven without pay over the allegations. Juliette Touma, UNRWA communications director, said some of the nine staff members the United Nations announced on Monday were from these two groups.
The United Nations has not disclosed how many people have been fired from the agency so far.
In January, Israel accused 12 UNRWA staff of involvement in the October 7 attack on Israel, in which militants killed 1,200 people and kidnapped about 250. The UN’s internal watchdog has been investigating the agency since then.
Israel’s accusations initially led major donors to suspend funding to UNRWA. This resulted in a shortfall of about $450 million. Since then, all donors, except the United States, have decided to resume funding.

The Office of Internal Oversight Services, the UN watchdog charged with investigating UNRWA, said it used evidence provided by Israel in discussions with Israeli authorities. It said it could not independently verify the evidence because it did not have direct access to it. Investigators also reviewed internal UNRWA information, including employee records, emails and other communications data.
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The company said it had found enough evidence to suggest nine employees may have been involved in the Oct. 7 attack.
“I have decided that these nine remaining staff members cannot work for UNRWA,” the agency’s head, Filippo Lazzarini, said in a statement.
“The agency’s priority is to continue providing life-saving and critical services to Palestine refugees in Gaza and across the region, particularly in the face of ongoing war, instability and the risk of regional escalation,” Lazzarini said, adding that he condemned the October 7 attack.
In nine other cases, there was insufficient evidence, and in another case, there was no evidence of human involvement.
UNRWA has been the main provider of aid to Palestinians in Gaza during the 10-month war there, which Gaza health officials say has killed more than 39,600 people and triggered a massive humanitarian disaster.
Israel has long accused UNRWA of colluding with Hamas and turning a blind eye to Hamas’ activities. Throughout the war, Israel has released images of tunnels built next to UNRWA facilities. During the war, the dispute between the two sides escalated, with far-right protesters setting fire to parts of UNRWA facilities in Jerusalem and calling for the agency to be closed.
UNRWA denies working with Hamas. The agency says more than 200 of its staff have been killed and 190 of its facilities destroyed during the war, including UN-run schools that have been turned into shelters for displaced Palestinians.
—AP reporter Jade Lozada reports from the United Nations
© 2024 The Canadian Press
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