Investigation Finds 9 Employees of UNRWA May Have Participated in Oct. 7 Attacks in Israel

‘The evidence—if authenticated and corroborated—could indicate that the UNRWA staff members may have been involved in the attacks,’ the UNRWA chief said.

A truck, marked with the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) logo, crosses into Egypt from Gaza, at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, during a temporary truce between Hamas and Israel, in Rafah, Egypt, on Nov. 27, 2023. Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters

An internal United Nations (U.N.) investigation has found that nine employees of one of its agencies may have been involved in the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks in Israel, and those employees will be fired, according to the agency’s head.

The Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), a U.N. watchdog, launched an investigation earlier this year into allegations that 19 staff members of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in Gaza participated in the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel.