U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres defended the UNRWA's operations in Gaza, stating that only 'a few elements' of the organization were affiliated with Hamas. This comes in response to Israeli ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon's claim that the UNRWA is entirely controlled by Hamas.
Guterres acknowledged that Hamas had 'infiltrated' the organization but emphasized that there is no concrete evidence supporting Israel's allegations. He condemned the infiltration, clarifying that it was limited to a few individuals involved in a specific incident.
Guterres refuted claims of UNRWA providing support to Hamas, highlighting that while tunnels exist beneath UNRWA premises as in other parts of Gaza, there is no general commitment to assist Hamas.
Meanwhile, Israel has reiterated its accusations against UNRWA, with Danon accusing Guterres and the U.N. of ignoring the issue. Danon defended an Israeli airstrike on the UNRWA al-Jaouni school in Gaza, claiming that those killed were Hamas terrorists disguised as 'local UNRWA employees.'
The Israeli Defense Forces stated that the school, not operational at the time, was being used as a Hamas command center. Recent reports revealed that UNRWA had terminated nine employees due to suspected involvement in a Hamas attack that resulted in casualties.
The U.S. halted funding to UNRWA following revelations of employee ties to the October 7 massacre in southern Israel. President Biden had reinstated aid to the agency upon taking office, overturning former President Trump's decision to defund UNRWA in 2018.
