UNRWA Under Pressure over New Hamas Links

A US government watchdog has identified four more UNRWA staff members suspected of involvement in the Hamas crimes of 7 October. The findings have revived scrutiny of the Palestinian refugee agency.

Palestinians watch as Hamas hands over Israeli hostages’ remains to the Red Cross in Khan Younis on 20 February 2025. The latest US findings have renewed scrutiny of UNRWA staff involvement in the 7 October attacks. Photo: Ramadan Abed/Reuters

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has found evidence linking four more Gaza-based staff members of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) to Hamas. They are suspected of either taking part in the terrorist attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 or belonging to the terrorist group.

The findings were announced by USAID’s Office of Inspector General. The names of the four men have been referred to the US Department of State so that they can be excluded from working for US-funded aid organizations in future.

You might be interested Berlin Strengthens Islamist Structures

Teachers and a Social Worker

According to USAID, the men are three teachers and a social worker. They are accused of guarding hostages or taking part in other terrorist activities in Israel. The investigation has resulted in “suspension and debarment referrals for seven subjects having participated in the October 7 terrorist attacks and 14 subjects having Hamas affiliation”.

The inquiry also led to the “10-year government wide debarment” of Hafez Mousa Mohammed Mousa, a member of the Hamas East Jabaliya Battalion. Investigators found that, while serving as the principal of an UNRWA school, he coordinated communications with other suspected Hamas members during the 7 October attacks. The measure was the first known case in which the US debarred a terrorist-linked employee of a UN agency responsible for humanitarian aid programs.

Neutrality Under Scrutiny

After 7 October, UNRWA faced numerous allegations that members of its staff had taken part in the crimes. Several countries then temporarily suspended payments to the agency. A review commissioned by the UN later cleared the organization of breaching its neutrality obligations.

Because the review was not seen by critics as a fully independent external investigation, observers have tended to regard its conclusions as an attempt to secure the resumption of funding. Both the selection of the review’s members and its limited mandate appeared to point toward the desired outcome from the outset. It did not deal with specific allegations against individual staff members. Critics at the time described it as an attempt to “whitewash” UNRWA.

An earlier claim by UN Secretary General António Guterres that there was no evidence of terrorists among UNRWA staff and that the allegations had not been substantiated has therefore once again been contradicted. After the report was published, Guterres expressed “gratitude and appreciation” and appealed to all stakeholders to “actively support UNRWA”.

A visitor lights candles at the Nova memorial site in southern Israel during Hanukkah. Photo: Eli Basri/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

The School Question

In August 2024, UNRWA had already dismissed nine staff members whose direct involvement in the crimes of 7 October could no longer be disputed. The move was intended to complete the rehabilitation of the agency’s damaged image.

Yet the problem of terrorist links within UNRWA remained. An Israeli investigation based on extensive sources, including Hamas documents, concluded in April 2025: “Of the 12,521 UNRWA employees in the Gaza Strip, at least 1,462 (12%) are members of Hamas or other designated terrorist organizations.”

The situation was particularly serious at UNRWA-run schools, where most staff are employed and which account for the largest share of the agency’s budget in the Gaza Strip. According to the report, at least 80 of the 546 principals and deputy principals at UNRWA educational institutions, or 15%, were members of terrorist organizations.