UNRWA fires 70 Gaza staffers amid allegations of Hamas ties, says terminations not admission of guilt

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees successful the Near East (UNRWA) fired 70 unit members moving successful Gaza aft long-standing claims from Israeli authorities that the bureau is simply a collaborator with the Hamas violent group.

"Today, the Commissioner-General advertisement interim of UNRWA, Christian Saunders, took the determination to terminate the employment of 70 UNRWA unit members successful Gaza with contiguous effect," UNRWA wrote successful a Friday statement.

UNRWA insisted its determination was not an admittance of guilt, but 1 taken "to mitigate information and information risks for the refugees the Agency serves nether its mandate and for UNRWA unit and premises."

The bureau claims it has "repeatedly asked the Israeli authorities to supply accusation and grounds to substantiate allegations against idiosyncratic UNRWA unit members successful Gaza but has received nary effect to date."

ISRAEL SAYS UN MISLEADS WORLD AS GAZA AID STOLEN AND DIVERTED FROM CIVILIANS

A Palestinian lad walks adjacent a UNRWA schoolhouse sheltering displaced radical that was deed successful an overnight Israeli onslaught successful Gaza City connected July 5, 2025. (Dawoud Abu Alkas/Reuters)

"The dismissal of the unit is not portion of a disciplinary process and does not represent successful immoderate mode a validation of the claims made against them," the UNRWA connection read.

The firings travel a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) probe that referred much than 100 UNRWA unit members for suspension oregon dismissal.

USAID's investigation, the results of which the bureau published June 5, assessed that a fig of UNRWA's employees were profoundly enmeshed successful Hamas' civilian nine and subject operations.

The probe results included notation of "a lawman schoolhouse main serving arsenic an al-Qassam lawman institution commandant successful the Ain Gallout/5th infantry battalion, a lawman schoolhouse main serving arsenic squad person for the Khan Younis Brigade/2nd infantry battalion" and "a teacher with expertise arsenic a sniper for Hamas."

Al-Qassam Brigades, the subject helping of Hamas, manus implicit Israeli hostages Omer Shem-Tov, Eliya Cohen and Omer Wenkert to the International Committee of the Red Cross successful Nuseirat Refugee Camp, Gaza, connected Feb. 22, 2025, arsenic portion of the seventh speech nether the Jan. 19 ceasefire deal. (Ashraf Amra/Anadolu)

The probe besides recovered galore schoolhouse teachers and principals it claimed to person participated straight successful Hamas' Oct. 7 violent attacks.

Israeli authorities person agelong charged UNRWA with being straight tied to Hamas.

"Since October 7, grounds of galore incidents of Hamas exploiting UNRWA infrastructure and UNRWA employees being progressive successful violent enactment has been exposed. Civilians successful Gaza person adjacent stated that UNRWA is Hamas," the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) wrote successful a January web post.

Israeli soldiers basal wrong an evacuated United Nations Relief and Works Agency compound successful Gaza City during a media circuit organized by the Israeli service connected Feb. 8, 2024. (Jack Guez/AFP)

Additionally, the IDF claimed, citing quality findings, that "among the 12,521 UNRWA employees successful the Gaza Strip, astatine slightest 1,462 (12%) are members of Hamas oregon different designated violent organizations."

UNRWA SCHOOLS ‘HIJACKED BY HAMAS,’ WATCHDOG REPORT WARNS

Israel's Foreign Ministry pushed backmost connected UNRWA's defence framing and claims that Israel had not supplied grounds of employee-Hamas collaboration.

"UNRWA's connection connected the termination of 70 employees, portion blaming the victim, Israel, and without adjacent mentioning the connection 'Hamas,' is simply a cynical cover-up," the ministry wrote successful a connection shared connected X.

UNRWA's office is shown successful Gaza City, Gaza, connected Feb. 21, 2024. (Dawoud Abo Alkas/Anadolu)

"The work to purge coercion lies solely with the UN, yet Hamas rank remains simply acceptable wrong UNRWA's ranks. By harboring terrorists and letting its facilities service arsenic Hamas headquarters, UNRWA has go an limb of Hamas," the connection concluded.

UNRWA, for its part, denies being an progressive collaborator with Hamas, but insists moving with the radical is an operational necessity for distributing assistance successful Gaza.

"UNRWA, akin to different United Nations entities, does not person constabulary oregon quality capacities and indispensable trust connected the practice and assistance of Member States, including the State of Israel arsenic the Occupying Power, to support its operations and neutrality amid precocious risks successful the Occupied Palestinian Territory," the bureau wrote successful its Friday statement.

In April, UNRWA's Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) announced the results of an probe into 19 employees accused of participating successful Oct. 7. UNRWA terminated 12 of the employees successful January. Of the remaining 7 cases, UNRWA had dismissed one, citing a deficiency of evidence. The remaining six cases were inactive nether probe arsenic of April, according to the agency.

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President Donald Trump's medication weighed levying terrorism-related sanctions against UNRWA successful December.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has besides referred to UNRWA arsenic "a subsidiary of Hamas."

Fox News Digital contacted UNRWA and a spokesperson for the Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations but did not instantly person a response.