UNRWA fires 70 Gaza staffers amid Israeli accusations agency staff riddled with Hamas operatives

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees says it fired 70 staffers in Gaza “to mitigate safety and security risks for the refugees” amid Israeli accusations that many of its staffers are Hamas operatives.

Announcing the move on Thursday, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) temporary head Christian Saunders says the firings take place with “immediate effect” and “were taken further to an assessment of the safety and security of UNRWA operations in Gaza.”

However, the statement does not mention Hamas and states that “the dismissal of the staff is not part of a disciplinary process and does not constitute in any way a validation of the claims made against them.”

“UNRWA has repeatedly asked the Israeli authorities to provide information and evidence to substantiate allegations against individual UNRWA staff members in Gaza, but has received no response to date,” the statement claims.

Israel has repeatedly alleged and shown evidence that employees of the agency were actively involved in terror groups in the Gaza Strip, and some participated in the October 7, 2023, Hamas invasion and slaughter. Israel has also shown repeated use of UNRWA infrastructure for terror activities and provided evidence that the agency’s schools incited hatred of Israel and glorification of attacks against Israelis.

UN Watch, the prominent pro-Israel lobbying group at the United Nations, welcomes the move, but accuses UNWRA of hypocrisy in refusing to openly acknowledge the links to Hamas.

Hamas terrorist and UNRWA staffer Muhammad Abu Attawi during the attack on a bomb shelter near Kibbutz Re’im on October 7, 2023. (Israel Defense Forces)

“Our sustained documentation of UNRWA’s deep infiltration by Hamas — including our UNRWA Terror Network map identifying at least 400 culprits — together with the USAID Inspector General, has finally forced the agency’s hand,” says Hillel Neuer, Executive Director of UN Watch. “

“For years, UN Watch has exposed how UNRWA teachers, school principals and other employees are intertwined with Hamas, including terror chiefs heading the staff unions. Today’s action, while welcome, is only a small beginning,” says Neuer.

“This incoherent position — firing people while refusing to acknowledge why — reveals an institution still more interested in protecting itself and its Hamas-embedded workforce than in genuine neutrality or accountability,” UN Watch says.