2024-03-04 23:02:10
This content was published on 04 March 2024 – 23:01
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in Gaza has employed more than 450 militants from the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and other armed groups and that Israel has sent this intelligence to the United Nations, an Israeli military spokesman said on Monday.
UNRWA is already at the center of a diplomatic storm over Israeli allegations that many of its employees are also members of Hamas, and that some employees participated in the group’s attack on October 7 that sparked the war in Gaza. Since then, the United States and other countries have stopped funding the UN agency.
Spokesman Daniel Hajari added in a press conference, “More than 450 UNRWA employees are armed elements of terrorist groups in Gaza. More than 450. This is not just a coincidence, it is something systematic.”
“We sent this information, which I am now announcing, and other intelligence information, to our international partners, including the United Nations,” he said.
In response, UNRWA said that it welcomes all information that can be included in the independent investigation currently being conducted by the United Nations.
“UNRWA encourages any entity with any information regarding the very serious allegations once morest its staff to share it with the ongoing UN investigation,” said Juliette Touma, the agency’s director of communications.
Palestinian leaders accused Israel of launching a political attack on UNRWA, and called for the resumption of its funding.
UNRWA employs 13,000 people in Gaza, providing daily assistance to more than half of the Strip’s population of 2.3 million. The funding freeze increased pressure on the agency, which was already suffering from severe pressure during the war that has been going on for nearly five months.
Israel pledged to continue its devastating attack until Hamas is eliminated and more than 100 Israeli hostages still in Gaza are released.
The Hamas attack on October 7 led to the killing of 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and the taking of 253 hostages, according to Israeli statistics. Gaza health authorities say that the Israeli military campaign has since killed more than 30,000 Palestinians.
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