Hamas condemns UN agency layoffs following ‘Israeli allegations’

By Abdeljabar Abu Ras

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – Hamas on Saturday condemned the termination of contracts for some staffers of the UN Agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).

This decision was based on Israeli claims of their involvement in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

"We strongly denounce the agency's decision to terminate the contracts of several UNRWA staffers in Gaza based on Israeli information regarding the alleged involvement of these staffers in the events of Oct. 7,” Hamas said on Telegram.

The contracts were terminated “without completing all the requirements of a fair and impartial investigation,” it added.

On Friday, the UN agency announced an investigation into allegations of involvement by some of its staffers in the Hamas attack which killed 1,200 Israelis, according to Tel Aviv.

Following this, the US, Canada, Italy, and Australia temporarily suspended their funding to the UN agency.

“The Israeli Authorities have provided UNRWA with information about the alleged involvement of several UNRWA employees in the horrific attacks on Israel on 7 October,” Philippe Lazzarini, the UNRWA commissioner-general, said in a statement.

"To protect the Agency’s ability to deliver humanitarian assistance, I have taken the decision to immediately terminate the contracts of these staff members and launch an investigation in order to establish the truth without delay," said Lazzarini.

Israel has launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, killing at least 26,083 Palestinians and injuring 64,487 others, according to Palestinian authorities.

The war has left 85% of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while more than half of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

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*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala