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Nine staff members of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees may have been involved in the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and they will be dismissed, the United Nations says.
The background: The after Israel charged that 12 UNRWA staff took part in the Hamas-led October 7 attacks that triggered the Gaza war.
Israel stepped up its accusations in March, saying more than 450 UNRWA staff were military operatives in Gazan militant groups.
The key quote: “For us, any participation in the attacks is a tremendous betrayal of the sort of work that we are supposed to be doing on behalf of the Palestinian people.” — UNRWA deputy spokesman Farhan Haq.
“In one case, no evidence was obtained by OIOS to support the allegations of the staff member’s involvement, while in nine other cases, the evidence obtained by OIOS was insufficient to support the staff member’s involvement.”
What else to know: UNWRA said in March that some employees released into Gaza from Israeli detention reported having been pressured by Israeli authorities into falsely stating that the agency has Hamas links and that staff took part in the October attacks.
OIOS is the highest investigative body in the UN system and its reports are confidential but can be made available to member states upon request.
At least 39,550 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s attacks on Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Israel has bombarded Gaza in response to Hamas’ October 7 attack on southern Israel, in which 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.