U.S. pauses funding as Israel claims U.N. agency employees were involved in Oct. 7 attacks
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The U.S. has paused funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency after being “extremely troubled” by allegations that 12 UNRWA employees may have been involved in the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to emphasize the “necessity of a thorough and swift investigation of this matter,” according to Friday morning’s statement from the U.S. State Department. Guterres was “horrified” by the news, according to Reuters. Blinken also told the U.N. leader that the U.S. was asking Israel for additional information and emphasized that there must be “complete accountability for anyone who participated in the heinous attacks of Oct. 7.”
U.S. Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released a statement Friday morning saying: “It is unconscionable that UNRWA staff allegedly participated in the attacks and kidnapped Israelis on October 7. For years, I have warned the Biden administration about resuming funding to UNRWA, which has a history of employing people connected to terrorist movements like Hamas. Today’s news is yet another example that underscores how corrupt this organization truly is.”
According to the U.S. State Department spokesman, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency plays “a critical role in providing lifesaving assistance to Palestinians, including essential food, medicine, shelter, and other vital humanitarian support.”
The organization responded quickly to the U.S. statement by immediately terminating the contracts of the employees in question and launching an investigation into the allegations. Their statement reiterated their “condemnation in the strongest possible terms of the abhorrent attacks of 7 October and calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all Israeli hostages and their safe return to their families.”
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“These shocking allegations come as more than 2 million people in Gaza depend on lifesaving assistance that the agency has been providing since the war began,” said the statement from UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini. “Anyone who betrays the fundamental values of the United Nations also betrays those whom we serve in Gaza, across the region and elsewhere around the world.”
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency is one of Gaza’s largest employers, with approximately 13,000 staff members to implement their mission of “providing assistance and protection” for Palestinian refugees. Since the war began on Oct. 7, 2023, they have played a critical role in distributing food and medical aid in Gaza, reports The New York Times. Over 100 of their employees were killed in the first few weeks of the war.
Yesterday, a strike on the UNRWA compound in Khan Younis, where 30,000 Palestinians had taken shelter, left at least 12 dead and injured 75. Israeli officials denied involvement in the strike.
Holly Richardson is the editor of Utah Policy.
