U.N. fires 9 more staffers over potential involvement in Oct. 7 attack on Israel

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The U.N. announced on Monday that it fired nine staff members from its agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, after an internal investigation found they may have been involved in the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack against Israel. / AP

JERUSALEM — The United Nations said Monday it has fired additional staff members from its agency for Palestinian refugees after an internal investigation found they may have been involved in the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack against Israel.

The U.N. secretary-general's office announced the move in a brief statement to journalists. Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson for the secretary-general, did not elaborate on the UNRWA staffers' likely role in the attack or on the evidence that prompted its decision.

UNRWA previously fired 12 staffers and put seven staffers on administrative leave without pay over the claims. The group of nine staffers the U.N. announced it had fired Monday includes some from each group, said Juliette Touma, communications director for UNRWA.

The U.N. did not clarify how many have now been fired from the agency in total.

The U.N.'s internal watchdog has been investigating the agency since Israel in January accused 12 UNRWA staffers of being involved in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, in which militants killed 1,200 people and abducted some 250 others.

Israel's allegations initially led top donor countries to suspend their funding for UNRWA. That caused a cash crunch of about $450 million dollars. Since then, all donor countries except for the U.S. have decided to resume funding.

Oren Marmorstein, the spokesperson for Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, wrote on X following the announcement of the firings that Israel was again calling for donor countries to suspend funding "as the funds may go to terrorist elements."

"UNRWA is part of the problem and not part of the solution, and anyone who seeks the best interests of Israel, the Gaza Strip and the region should act to replace UNWRA's activities with other agencies," he wrote.

The U.N. watchdog charged with investigating UNRWA, called the Office of Internal Oversight Services, said it drew on evidence provided by Israel in discussions with Israeli authorities. It said it could not independently corroborate that evidence since it did not have direct access to it. The investigators also reviewed internal UNRWA information, including staff records, email and other communications data.

It said it found sufficient evidence pointing to nine employees' potential involvement in the Oct. 7 attack.

An Israeli official with knowledge of the discussions, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media, said that Israeli authorities spent hours on each accused UNRWA staffer when briefing U.N. investigators on their findings.

"I have decided that in the case of these remaining nine staff members, they cannot work for UNRWA," the agency's head Philippe Lazzarini said in a statement.

"The agency's priority is to continue lifesaving and critical services for Palestine refugees in Gaza and across the region, especially in the face of the ongoing war, the instability and risk of regional escalation," said Lazzarini, who also said he condemned the Oct. 7 attack.

In nine other cases, the evidence was insufficient, and in one other case there was no evidence pointing to involvement.

UNRWA has been the main agency distributing aid to Palestinians in Gaza during the 10-month old war there, which Gaza Health officials say has killed over 39,600 people and unleashed a mass humanitarian catastrophe.

Israel has escalated calls for the agency's shutdown since the war began. It has long accused UNRWA of collaborating with Hamas and turning a blind eye to the militant group's activities. Throughout the war, it has released images of tunnels built next to UNRWA facilities and charged that many more UNRWA staffers than those who have been fired are members of militant groups.

During the war, far-right protesters demonstrating against the agency have set portions of the its facility in Jerusalem ablaze.

UNRWA denies collaborating with Hamas. The agency says that more than 200 UNRWA staffers have been killed, and 190 of the agency's installations have been damaged during the war — including U.N.-run schools that have been turned into shelters for displaced Palestinians.