The United Nations announced on Monday (August 5) that following a months-long investigation, nine employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) may have been involved in the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and have therefore been dismissed.
Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for the Near East, confirmed in a press release on Monday that the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services has completed an investigation into 19 UNRWA staff stationed in the Gaza Strip who were accused of participating in the October 7 attack on Israel.
The Oversight Services is the highest investigative body of the United Nations, and its reports are confidential but can be provided to member states upon request.
Lazzarini announced the findings of the Oversight Services investigation:
“In one case, the Oversight Services did not obtain any evidence to support the allegation of a staff member’s involvement in the attack. This staff member has been reinstated at UNRWA.
“In nine other cases, the evidence obtained by the Oversight Services was insufficient to support the involvement of these staff members in the attack, and the investigation into them has now concluded.
“As for the remaining nine cases, the evidence – if confirmed and corroborated – may indicate that UNRWA staff were involved in the October 7 attack.”
Regarding the nine UN personnel accused in these cases, Lazzarini stated, “I have decided that, for the remaining nine staff members, they cannot work for UNRWA. In the best interests of the agency, all contracts with these staff members will be terminated.”
The head of UNRWA reiterated in the statement that the agency’s “priority is to continue providing life-saving and critical services to Palestinian refugees in Gaza and the entire region” and “strongly condemns the October 7 attack.”
Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, also informed reporters in New York on Monday that the Oversight Services had completed the investigation of the 19 accused individuals, two of whom have died.
When asked about the extent of involvement of the accused staff in the attack, Haq stated that he did not have specific information about the allegations.
However, he mentioned that the nine UNRWA personnel potentially involved in the attack were all male.
“For us, any involvement in attacks is a grave betrayal of the work we are supposed to do on behalf of the Palestinian people.”
In January of this year, Israel notified UNRWA that twelve staff members of the agency were allegedly involved in the October 7 attack. Following this revelation, at least nine countries temporarily suspended funding to the agency, including the largest donor countries, the United States and Germany.
UNRWA subsequently terminated contracts with the implicated staff members, and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres instructed the Oversight Services to initiate an investigation.
In March and April, Israel leveled accusations against seven more individuals, which were also included in the investigation by the United Nations.