U.N. fires 9 employees in Gaza who may have taken part in deadly Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel

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The United Nations on Monday fired nine employees of UNRWA, its Palestinian relief agency, after an internal probe concluded they may have taken part in the Oct. 7 Hamas rampage into southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and resulted in hundreds of others taken hostage.

The U.N.’s Office of Internal Oversight Services said it completed its investigation into 19 UNRWA staffers alleged to have taken part in the attacks launched from the Gaza Strip. There was no evidence of involvement in one of the cases and insufficient evidence in nine others to warrant termination of employment, U.N. officials said Monday.

“I have decided that in the cases of these remaining nine staff members, they cannot work for UNRWA. All contracts of these staff members will be terminated in the interest of the agency,” said UNRWA Commissioner-General Phillipe Lazzarini, saying their presence violated the world body’s principle of neutrality.

Israel has long accused the relief agency of harboring terrorists in its midst, and said the cases dealt with Monday addressed only a tiny fraction of the problem. Ambassador Gilad Erdan, Israel’s envoy to the U.N., called the investigation a disgrace and said it was “too little, and too late.”

“Israel has provided the UN with precise details of over 100 UNRWA employees who are members of the terrorist organization Hamas. Despite the cooperation and information that Israel passed on to the UN, the conclusions of the investigation are another insult to the UN, which still refuses to recognize the reality,” Ambassador Erdan said Monday on X.

He also criticized the decision by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to issue an award commending UNRWA’s operation in Gaza.

The Secretary-General should resign and UNRWA should be closed,” Ambassador Erdan said. “Israel needs to act quickly now to outlaw UNRWA, declare it a terrorist organization, expel its leaders from Israeli territory, and not allow them to enter.”

On Monday, the UNRWA chief repeated his condemnation of the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, that triggered the ongoing war with Israel.

“I call, once again, for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and their safe return to their families,” Mr. Lazzarini said.