USAID Watchdog Refers Over 100 UNRWA Staff Over Oct. 7, Hamas Links

by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Chief

(Worthy News) – A U.S. foreign-aid watchdog has referred more than 100 current and former UNRWA employees for possible suspension or debarment after finding evidence tying them to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre in Israel and/or affiliation with Hamas’s military wing.

The U.S. Agency for International Development Office of Inspector General said its ongoing investigation has referred UNRWA personnel to the State Department over alleged participation in the attacks or links to Hamas’s al-Qassam Brigades. The office previously reported that 101 current or former UNRWA staff had been referred for suspension or debarment consideration, and a new investigative summary said additional former UNRWA staff were proposed for debarment over alleged Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad ties.

Among the cases cited by the watchdog was a former UNRWA social worker alleged to have served as a Hamas military communications operative and to have participated in the kidnapping of a civilian from Kibbutz Be’eri on Oct. 7. Other cases involved former UNRWA personnel accused of links to Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

The findings add to years of mounting scrutiny over UNRWA, the U.N. agency responsible for Palestinian refugees, after Israel alleged that some of its employees took part in the Oct. 7 attacks. UNRWA has previously said it condemns the Oct. 7 massacre “in the strongest possible terms” and has pointed to U.N. investigations into allegations against agency personnel.

Still, the latest U.S. watchdog findings will deepen questions in Washington over whether American-backed humanitarian channels in Gaza have been adequately protected from terrorist infiltration. For Israel and its supporters, the report reinforces a long-standing concern: that aid meant for civilians has too often operated in the shadow of Hamas.

Latest Worthy News