Israel sends UNRWA list of 108 employees it says are Hamas, PIJ, terrorists
German, US outlets report Foreign Ministry provided names, passports, ‘military IDs’ of workers, urged UN agency for Palestinians fire them immediately, says more suspects to come
The Foreign Ministry has sent a letter to UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini that lists 108 employees of the UN refugee agency for Palestinians who Israel says are Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists, demanding that they immediately be fired.
The letter, first reported Thursday by the German daily Bild and then also Fox News, warned that Israel has more names to come and that it will provide the information to international donors of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which serves Palestinian refugees and their descendants.
Israel has accused multiple UNRWA staffers of taking part in Hamas’s October 7 attack on the country, in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage, mostly civilians. The IDF has found a Hamas data center located directly beneath UNRWA headquarters in Gaza City, in addition to numerous findings indicating the use of the agency’s assets for terror purposes.
Ambassador Amir Weissbrod, who serves as Deputy Director General for UN and International Organisations Division at the ministry, sent the letter to Lazzarini on July 4. It includes the names, passports, and “military ID numbers” of the suspected terrorists who, it says, are “currently employed by UNRWA-Gaza.
Weissbrod called on UNRWA to “immediately terminate” the employees, as their work “poses a security risk for Israel” and “represents a breach of the principle of neutrality.”
He wrote that Hamas employees within UNRWA have been a “recurring concern.”
“However, the full scope of this unprecedented infiltration was unknown and became clear only after the October 7th terrorist attack on Israel, in which, as you know, UNRWA employees actively participated,” Weissbrod said, noting that some of those named in the latter hold “high-ranking positions” in the agency or Hamas.
Weissbrod asserted the list was just a “small fraction” of terror operatives employed by UNRWA and that more names would follow.
“This list will also be provided to major UNRWA donors,” he added in the letter.
Bild said it would not publish the list due to “confidentiality” issues. Fox also did not publish the letter or the names, though both outlets claimed to have obtained a copy.
Bild noted that the allegations raise fresh questions about Berlin’s funding of the UN agency and that the remains of murdered Israeli-German hostage Shani Louk were found in a UNRWA building.
Israel’s ambassador to Germany Ron Prosor posted a screen capture of the Bild report to social media platform X and commented, “This is a shameful list! Friendly teacher in the morning, terrorist in the evening – how does that fit together?”
“UNRWA has become a terrorist aid organization,” he continued. “The German government must ensure that German tax money does not end up with terrorists. We can no longer close our eyes!”
Israel first made its accusations against UNRWA employees in January. In the weeks that followed, numerous donor states, including Germany, suspended or paused some $450 million in funding.
Many, including Sweden, Canada, and Japan have since resumed funding.
Of an initial 12 employees accused by Israel, UNRWA fired 10 people and said the remaining two are dead. The UN later suspended investigations into several of the accused, claiming that Israel had provided insufficient evidence.
In the wake of the suspended probes, Germany resumed funding in April.
Earlier this month, the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee discussed bills aimed at curtailing UNRWA activities.
Israel responded to the Hamas October 7 attack with a military offensive to destroy the terror group, topple its Gaza regime, and free the hostages. During operations in Gaza, the IDF has repeatedly said it encountered gunmen or found weapons and terror infrastructure at UNRWA-operated sites.
According to Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, of the 13,000 UNRWA employees in Gaza, at least 12 percent are affiliated with Palestinian terror groups, including 1,468 employees active in Hamas and PIJ. Of those, 185 UNRWA workers were active in the military branches of Hamas, and 51 in the PIJ military branch.
