From the Liveblog of
Friday, February 16, 2024
Defense minister reveals identities of 12 UNRWA staffers who ‘actively participated’ in Oct. 7 onslaught
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant publicly reveals the identities of 12 UNRWA staff who he says “actively participated” in the Hamas-led October 7 onslaught.
The October 7 attack saw some 3,000 Hamas-led terrorists burst across the border into Israel from Gaza by land, air and sea, killing some 1,200 people and seizing 253 hostages of all ages — mostly civilians — under the cover of a deluge of thousands of rockets fired at Israeli towns and cities.
Among the staff who took part in the attacks are teachers working at UNRWA schools.
“In addition to these 12 workers, we have significant indications based on intelligence, that over 30 UNRWA workers participated in the massacre, facilitated the taking of hostages, looted and stole from Israeli communities, and more,” Gallant says in a briefing with foreign press.
Gallant says that UNRWA has “lost legitimacy and can no longer function as a UN body,” and has therefore instructed the IDF and defense establishment to transfer responsibilities of aid delivery in the Strip to other humanitarian organizations.
According to Gallant, of the 13,000 UNRWA employees in Gaza, at least 12% are affiliated with the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror groups.
“1,468 workers are known to be active in Hamas and PIJ. 185 UNRWA workers are active in the military branches of Hamas and 51 are active in the PIJ military branch,” he says.
