US report doubts Israeli claims of UNRWA involvement in Oct. 7 attacks

LONDON: Israeli claims that UN aid agency staff took part in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack have been cast into doubt by a US intelligence report.

Israel suggested that 12 people working for the UN Relief and Works Agency were involved in the assault that claimed the lives of at least 1,200 people, and previously said as many as 10 percent of UNRWA employees in Gaza had links to Hamas.

Several countries, including the US, subsequently suspended funds to UNRWA, but an intelligence report seen by the Wall Street Journal has suggested “low confidence” in the veracity of Israel’s claims.

The report said although Israel’s accusations against the 12 individuals were considered credible, US intelligence services could not independently confirm them.

In addition, the report doubted suggestions that many UNRWA staff collaborated with Hamas beyond coordinating to facilitate the entry and distribution of aid in Gaza, once again citing a lack of evidence for Israel’s accusations. It also said Israel had not “shared the raw intelligence behind its assessments with the US.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in January that Israel’s claims against UNRWA staff were “highly, highly credible.”

Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner general of UNRWA, said earlier this month that evidence had not been investigated before nine of the accused staff members were dismissed from their roles.

“I could have suspended them, but I have fired them. And now I have an investigation, and if the investigation tells us that this was wrong, in that case at the UN we will take a decision on how to properly compensate (them),” he told a press conference in Jerusalem.

UNRWA is one of the only sources of aid to Palestinians in Gaza as Israel continues its ground and air offensive in the enclave.

So far, around 30,000 Palestinians are thought to have died, and many more have been injured and displaced.