‘Quite Damning Allegations’: CNN Grills UN Official Over Accusations UNRWA Trucks Bringing Rockets Into Gaza

CNN anchor Bianna Golodryga took Director of UNRWA Affairs Thomas White to task on Monday over what she described as two separate “quite damning allegations” against the UN refugee agency operating in Gaza.

“Thomas, Israel is citing security concerns with regards to the number of trucks that are going into Gaza. And on Saturday, the IDF said that it found dozens of rockets hidden under boxes marked with UNRWA’s insignia, in northern Gaza,” Golodryga began in a clip that quickly went viral online.

“Another issue I’d like to raise with you is an Israeli reporter over the weekend, from Channel 13, cited one of the abductees who had returned back to Israel and said that he was held by a UNRWA teacher, a father of ten. This teacher locked the victim away, barely provided food and neglected medical needs,” she continued, adding:

UNRWA responded to this post and said, quote, ‘Making serious allegations in the public domain unsupported by any evidence or verifiable facts in support thereof may amount to misinformation.’ That reporter then responded and said that’s not an allegation, that’s survivor’s testimony. How is UNRWA investigating or responding to these two quite damning allegations?

White dodged the lengthy questions and replied, “So what I can speak to is our aid, essentially the aid that UNRWA is bringing in goes directly into the hands of the refugees. So on any given day here, we are distributing over 50,000 bags of flour to families so that they can provide for themselves. We account for that.”

Golodryga interjected, doubling down on her line of questioning, “Does it bother you then at all that some of these trucks may be bringing, secretly smuggling in rockets or that UNRWA teachers are hiding abductees allegedly?”

“Look our trucks are not bringing in rockets,” White shot back, quickly pivoting back to aid:

Our trucks are bringing in wheat flour. They’re bringing in supplies that help families eke out a very basic existence. We have a very clear system of accountability. Every bag of flour that is provided is cross-referenced against people’s national identity number. And so, you know, there are now hundreds of thousands of bags, literally wheat bags, wheat flour bags in Gaza with the UNRWA logo on them. And they have all gone to families so that they can feed themselves.

Watch the full clip above via CNN.