UN workers ‘kidnapped woman and gave out ammo to Hamas gunmen on Oct 7’
‘UNRWA’S problem is not just a few bad apples ... the institution is a haven for Hamas’ radical ideology’
UN WORKERS in Gaza kidnapped an Israeli woman during Hamas’s Oct 7 attack and handed out ammunition to its gunmen, according to intelligence produced by Israel.
The dossier, shared with US officials and seen by The New York Times, added detail to claims by Israel last week that staff of the United Nations’ Palestinian aid agency (UNRWA) were involved in Hamas’ attack.
It described 10 out of the 12 UNRWA workers allegedly implicated in the attack as Hamas members and another as being affiliated with Islamic Jihad, a separate terror group in Gaza.
The dossier, which has not been verified by The Telegraph but was reportedly regarded as credible by US officials, named a school counsellor from the southern city of Khan Younis who allegedly conspired with his son to abduct a woman from Israel.
It identified one employee, an Arabic teacher, who was said to be a Hamas militant commander and to have taken part in the murderous attack on Kibbutz Be’eri in Israel on Oct 7, according to a separate report by the Wall Street Journal. helping Hamas to bring the body of a dead Israeli soldier into Gaza, as well as co-ordinating vehicles for the terror group and handing out ammunition to its gunmen on Oct 7.
The Israeli dossier was reportedly presented to US officials on Friday.
It was said to list the names and jobs of the UNRWA employees allegedly involved in Hamas’ attack and the specific allegations against them.
The dossier also said some 10 per cent of all of the agency’s 13,000 members of staff in Gaza had ties to Islamist groups, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, according to a separate report by the Wall Street Journal. told the newspaper: “UNRWA’S problem is not just ‘a few bad apples’ involved in the Oct 7 massacre. The institution as a whole is a haven for Hamas’ radical ideology.”
Three of those monitored by Israeli intelligence officers received text messages ordering them to report to muster points on Oct 7, The New York Times reported.
Another UNRWA employee was ordered to bring rocket-propelled grenades stored inside his home, according to the documents reviewed by the newspaper.
The majority of the implicated UN workers were teachers at UNRWA schools.
Israeli intelligence reportedly tracked the movement of six of the men inside Israel on the day of the attack via their phones. Others were wiretapped and allegedly heard discussing their involvement in the attack during a series of calls.
The New York Times’s report came after Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary General, said on Sunday he was horrified by Israel’s allegations, adding that nine of the 12 employees identified as being involved with Hamas had been sacked.
At least nine countries, including the US, UK and Germany, have paused funding for UNRWA in response to the Israeli allegations.
UNRWA said yesterday that it would not be able to continue operations in the enclave and across the region beyond the end of February unless donors which had suspended funding for the agency reversed course.
♦ Israeli cabinet ministers have called for Gaza to be “resettled” after the war and backed the rebuilding of settlements in the heart of the territory.
Itamar Ben-gvir, the national security minister, and Bezalel Smotrich, the finance minister, were among members of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government who attended a Right-wing, nationalist conference on plans for post-conflict Gaza in Jerusalem on Sunday.
The conference room was adorned with a giant map showing prospective settlements in the place of existing Palestinian towns.
“We must encourage voluntary migration. Let them [Palestinians] leave,” Mr Ben-gvir told an audience of thousands at the event.
Mr Netanyahu has not yet commented on the conference. He has previously indicated that he opposes resettling Gaza after the war.