UN workers in Gaza kidnapped Israeli woman and gave weapons to Hamas
UN workers in Gaza kidnapped an Israeli woman during Hamas’s Oct 7 attack and handed out ammunition to its gunmen, according to intelligence produced by Israel.
The dossier, shared with US officials and seen by The New York Times, added detail to the claims put forward by Israel last week that United Nations’ Palestinian aid agency (UNRWA) employees were involved in Hamas’ onslaught.
It described ten out of the 12 UNRWA workers allegedly implicated in the attack as Hamas members and another as being affiliated with Islamic Jihad, a separate terror group in Gaza.
The dossier, which has not been verified by the Telegraph but was reportedly regarded as credible by US officials, named a school counsellor from the southern city of Khan Younis who allegedly conspired with his son to abduct a woman from Israel.
It identified one employee, an Arabic teacher, who was said to be a Hamas militant commander and to have taken part in the murderous attack on Kibbutz Be’eri on Oct 7, according to a separate report by the Wall Street Journal.
Meanwhile a social worker in the Nuseirat refugee camp was accused of helping Hamas to bring the body of a dead Israeli soldier into Gaza, as well as coordinating vehicles for the terror group and handing out ammunition to its gunmen on Oct 7.
The Israeli dossier was reportedly presented to US officials on Friday.
It was said to list the names and jobs of the UNRWA employees allegedly involved in Hamas’ attack and the specific allegations against them.
‘Not just a few bad apples’
The dossier also said some 10 per cent of all of the agency’s 13,000 members of staff in Gaza had ties to Islamist groups, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, according to a separate report by the Wall Street Journal.
A senior Israeli government official told The Wall Street Journal: “UNRWA’s problem is not just ‘a few bad apples’ involved in the Oct 7 massacre.
“The institution as a whole is a haven for Hamas’ radical ideology.”
Three of those monitored by Israeli intelligence officers received text messages ordering them to report to muster points on Oct 7, the New York Times reported.
Another UNRWA employee was ordered to bring rocket-propelled grenades stored inside his home, according to the documents reviewed by the newspaper.
The majority of the implicated UN workers were teachers at UNRWA schools.
Israeli intelligence reportedly tracked the movement of six of the men inside Israel on the day of the attack via their phones. Others were wiretapped and allegedly heard discussing their involvement in the attack during a series of calls.
UN sacks those allegedly implicated
The New York Times’s report came after Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary General, said on Sunday he was horrified by Israel’s allegations, adding that nine of the 12 employees identified as being involved with Hamas had been sacked.
One was dead and the identities of the other two were being clarified, he added.
At least nine countries, including the US, UK and Germany, have paused funding for UNRWA in response to the Israeli allegations.
Israel Hayom, an Israeli newspaper, cited unnamed Israeli officials on Monday as saying that they had refrained from publicising the nature of their claims so as not to tarnish the reputation of an agency that has been critically important to millions of Palestinians trapped in war-torn Gaza.
UNRWA said on Monday that it would not be able to continue operations in the enclave and across the region beyond the end of February unless donors which had suspended funding for the agency reversed course.
The organisation’s role in Gaza has long been criticised by Israel, which alleges it has supported Hamas for years. This is an allegation that UNWRA denies.
