The UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) has announced its decision to terminate the contracts of several members of its personnel who allegedly participated in the attacks against Israel on October 7 and of start an investigation to clarify the facts.

The commissioner general of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, stated in a statement that he has taken “the decision to immediately terminate contracts of these staff members, as well as to initiate an investigation to establish the truth without delay. “We want to protect the Agency’s ability to provide humanitarian assistance in the Gaza Strip,” he said.

Furthermore, in the note, Lazzarini has indicated that this situation occurs after “the Israeli authorities provided UNRWA with information about the alleged participation of several UNRWA employees in the horrific attacks against Israel on October 7“.

US suspends funding for UNRWA

Precisely, this Friday The United States has announced the suspension temporary of the financing for the UN Palestinian Refugee Agency (UNRWA) over allegations that several members of its staff allegedly participated in the October 7 attacks by Hamas’s armed wing against Israel.

“The United States is extremely concerned by allegations that 12 UNRWA employees may have been involved in the Hamas terrorist attack against Israel,” the State Department said in a statement.

Thus, US diplomacy has announced that it has “temporarily suspended additional funding for UNRWA” while review “these accusations and the measures the United Nations is taking to address them.

In this sense, the United States has recognized that the agency has played until now “a fundamental paper” to provide assistance to Palestinians, such as food and medicine, and has “saved lives.” Therefore, he stressed that “it is important for UNRWA to address these allegations and take appropriate corrective measures.”

In that sense, the Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken, spoke on Thursday with the Secretary General of the UN, António Guterres, to ask him for “a rapid and exhaustive investigation of this matter.” President Joe Biden’s administration has also contacted the Government of Israel to “request more information about these accusations.” “There must be full accountability for anyone who participated in the heinous attacks of October 7,” the State Department stressed.

Subsequently, the White House announced that it will consider taking other measures regarding UNRWA “depending on the outcome” of the investigations. “We will consider additional changes in the way we engage with UNRWA,” said National Security Council spokesman John Kirby at a press conference.

For its part, Israel has repeatedly accused UNRWA of complicity with Hamas in Gaza, and has claimed that several of its members are, in fact, militants of the Islamist group. something that the UN had always denied.

With more than 30,000 employees, UNRWA is the largest organization in Gaza outside the Gaza Government. The Gaza war broke out on October 7 when the armed wing of Hamas committed a massacre in Israel in which 1,200 people died. Since then, the Israeli offensive against the Strip has left more than 26,000 dead, according to Gazan authorities, and an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.