The Israeli intelligence dossier, which has prompted a number of countries to freeze funding to the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA), includes allegations that some staff were involved in kidnappings and killings during the October 7 attack on Israel that sparked the Gaza war. Gaza. According to information used by Reuters, about 190 UNRWA staff, including teachers, were at one time or another Hamas or Islamic Jihad fighters.

For their part, the Palestinians accused Israel of falsifying information in order to tarnish the reputation of UNRWA. In this regard, the UN agency announced that it has already dismissed some staff and is investigating the allegations.

Who are the 12 employees of the UN agency involved in the bloody attack of Hamas on Israel

One of the 12 identified Palestinians, who also have photos in Israeli intelligence files, is a school counselor accused of providing unspecified assistance to his son in the kidnapping of a woman during a Hamas incursion on October 7, 2023, in which Israel says 1,200 people were killed and 253 kidnapped

Another, a UNRWA social worker, is accused of involvement (so far unknown) in moving the body of a slain Israeli soldier to Gaza and coordinating the movement of trucks used by the attackers and the delivery of weapons.

A third Palestinian in the case is accused of participating in a raid in the Israeli border village of Beeri, where 10 percent of the residents were killed.

A fourth Palestinian is accused of taking part in the attack in Reim, where both a military base and a party at a festival were stormed, killing more than 360 people.

“Based on the information collected, documents and identity cards seized during the fighting, approximately 190 Hamas and PIJ (Palestinian Islamic Jihad) fighters can now be identified as UNRWA operatives,” the file, written in Hebrew, says Reuters. , reports News.ro.

In the cited report, Israeli intelligence agencies accuse Hamas of “methodically and deliberately deploying its terrorist infrastructure in a wide range of UN facilities and facilities,” including schools. Hamas denies this.

Two alleged Hamas operatives were said in the report to have been “eliminated” or killed by Israeli forces. The 12th Palestinian, whose name and photograph have been provided, is not believed to be a member of any faction but reportedly crossed into Israel on 7 October.

The list of 12 men also includes a UNRWA teacher accused of arming an anti-tank missile, another teacher accused of taking a hostage, and a store manager at an UNRWA school accused of opening a war room to Islamic Jihad.

The file was seen by Reuters, which writes that its source said it was compiled by Israeli intelligence and passed on to the United States, which on Friday suspended funding to UNRWA.

When asked about this information, a UNRWA spokeswoman said she could not comment because of the ongoing UN investigation.

More than a million Palestinians depend on UNRWA

At least ten countries, including major donors such as the United States and Germany as well as Romania, have cut funding to the agency, a huge challenge for the organization that more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinians turn to for daily aid. and which has already been severely tested by Israel’s war against Hamas in the enclave.

On Monday, UNRWA announced that it would not be able to continue operations in Gaza and across the region beyond the end of February unless funding is restored.

UNRWA was created for refugees from the 1948 war, since the founding of Israel, from the territory of Palestine, which was under British control. The agency also deals with millions of descendants of the original refugees from the Palestinian territories and from abroad.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine has 13,000 staff in Gaza.

Israel has long accused UNRWA of perpetuating the conflict by preventing refugee resettlement, and has at times claimed that the agency’s staff participated in armed attacks against it.

More than 26,000 people have been killed during Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in Gaza, the enclave’s Ministry of Health has announced. With aid flows such as food and medicine at very low levels compared to pre-conflict, deaths from preventable diseases and the risk of starvation are rising, aid workers say.

“Terrorist organizations cynically exploit the people of Gaza and the international organizations whose mission is to provide aid, and thus cause actual harm to the residents,” said the dossier prepared by the Israelis.

Late last week, UN chief Antonio Guterres vowed to prosecute any staff involved in “heinous acts” but urged countries to continue funding UNRWA on humanitarian grounds.

“The tens of thousands of men and women who work for UNRWA, many of them in the most dangerous situations for humanitarian workers, should not be punished. The urgent needs of the desperate populations they serve must be met,” Guterres said.