Israel claims that 450 employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in Gaza are affiliated with militant groups, although no evidence was presented to support these claims, Associated Press reports.
Philippe Lazzarini, the head of UNRWA, refuted these allegations, stating that Israel had not previously raised such concerns, and denied receiving any evidence to support them. Furthermore, UNRWA accused Israel of detaining its staff members and coercing them into giving false confessions, which were then used to spread misinformation and jeopardize the agency’s operations
Major international funders have withheld hundreds of millions of dollars from UNRWA since Israel accused 12 of its employees of involvement in the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, resulting in casualties and hostages. UNRWA promptly fired the workers and two UN-ordered investigations are underway.
