USAID identified evidence that four more current or former UNRWA staff members participated in the October 7 massacre and or have Hamas affiliations, the statutorily independent law enforcement and oversight entity announced on Thursday.
Three of those identified were UNRWA-employed teachers, and the fourth was an UNRWA social worker, who were alleged to have held civilians hostage after they were abducted from southern Israel and or carried out terrorist activities in Israeli territory on October 7, 2023.
The staff has been referred to the US State Department, where a formal suspension or disbarment may prevent them from working in US-funded aid organizations in the future, USAID confirmed.
USAID confirmed that its ongoing investigations have led to the suspension and or disbarment of 21 individuals who either participated in the October 7 attacks or had affiliations with Hamas. Notably, the investigations led to the 10-year government-wide debarment of Hafez Mousa Mohammed Mousa, a UNRWA school principal and operative of Hamas’s East Jabaliya Battalion.
While USAID did not name those currently under investigation, Israeli officials have long criticized the UN agency for its failures in removing Hamas from its ranks and facilities.
UNWRA employees are alleged to have held civilians hostage
UNRWA social worker Faisal Ali Mussalem al-Naami abducted the body of Yonatan Samerano on October 7, and Israeli reporter Almog Boker reported that a released hostage said they were held by an UNRWA teacher.
UNRWA has not yet responded to The Jerusalem Post's request for comment.