The United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) says it has fired several employees following reports of their involvement in the Oct 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
The agency said in a statement on Friday it received information from Israel about the alleged involvement of some of its workers in the attacks.
Philippe Lazzarini, the agency’s head, said on Friday: “The Israeli authorities have provided UNRWA with information about the alleged involvement of several UNRWA employees in the horrific attacks on Israel on Oct 7.
“To protect the agency’s ability to deliver humanitarian assistance, I have taken the decision to immediately terminate the contracts of these staff members and launch an investigation in order to establish the truth without delay.”
Mr Lazzarini who has made frequent trips into Gaza during the war has been one of the staunchest critics of the Israeli ground operation.
The announcement came while the International Courts of Justice was handing down a ruling, stopping short of ordering Israel to cease fighting in Gaza but ordering it to take all action to prevent genocide.
Wishing them victory
The UN Watch, a Geneva-based NGO that scrutinises the work of the UN, raised the alarm earlier this month about alleged Hamas sympathies among multiple UN employees in Gaza.
The organisation cited hate posts in a Telegram group of about 3,000 UNRWA teachers in Gaza, praising the Hamas attackers as “heroes”.
The Telegram group, which contains personal details of UNRWA teachers, their work schedules and others, contained photos of dead or captured Israelis.
Several teachers quoted by the UN Watch were seen glorifying the Hamas attackers as “martyrs” and wishing them victory.
Antonio Guterres, the secretary-general of the United Nations, has been briefed about the allegations, his spokesperson said.
Stephane Dujarric said: “The secretary-general is horrified by this news.”
He said the UN chief had asked Mr Lazzarini to conduct a probe to ensure that any UNRWA employee shown to have participated or abetted the Oct 7 attacks be terminated immediately and referred for potential criminal prosecution.
“An urgent and comprehensive independent review of UNRWA will be conducted,” Mr Dujarric added.
As of Friday, the messages quoted by the UN Watch no longer appear to be in the chat.
The UNRWA was established in Gaza in 1949 following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It is one of the largest UN programmes, with over 30,000 personnel working across five areas of operation. It was not immediately clear where the employees in question worked.