News Orgs Find ‘No Evidence’ to Support Israel’s Claim Of Ties Between UNWRA and Hamas

A number of news organisations have begun to question claims from Israel that employees of United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) participated with Hamas in the October 7 attacks. Channel 4 reported Tuesday that it found “no evidence” to support Israel’s “explosive new claim” that led countries like the UK and US to unquestioningly suspend funding for the organisation.

The broadcaster reviewed the six-page Israeli intelligence document that accused some UNWRA staff of complicity in the attacks.

According to the document, which has sparked international controversy, approximately 190 Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives were identified as UNRWA employees, based on “intelligence information, documents and identity cards” seized during military operations. It said that six employees were part of the group that entered Israel during the Oct. 7 terror attack.

However, according to media organisations including Channel 4, Sky News and France24, the document stops short of providing concrete evidence to support its allegations.

Sky News reported Thursday that having reviewed the dossier that it had “not seen proof” of UNWRA employee involvement in the October 7th attacks. Likewise, France24 commenting that “the allegations against staff remain murky.”

The Financial Times, which also obtained a copy, said: “The intelligence assessment, which has been seen by the FT, provides no evidence for the claims, which it says are based on smartphone intercepts and captured identity cards.”

UNRWA, founded 75 years ago in the aftermath of the 1948 Palestine War, is currently tasked with supporting nearly six million Palestinian refugees and delivering humanitarian aid to displaced populations within the Gaza strip.

The timing of the funding suspension could not be more critical, coming in the wake of an interim ruling by the International Court of Justice on charges of genocide against Israel. The US, Australia, Canada, Italy, Germany, Finland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the UK, and the Scottish government all cut funding in response to the Israeli accusations.

The move risks pushing over 1.2 million people, already dependent on UNRWA’s food assistance before the October 7 events, towards mass starvation. UNRWA, which provides education, healthcare, and other essential services to 5.9 million Palestinian refugees across the Middle East, faces an unprecedented challenge and told Channel 4 that without funding its involvement in the region would dry up by March.

The agency, employing 13,000 Gazans previously vetted by Israel, has taken action by dismissing staff members named in the Israeli document. In an interview with UNWRA Director of Communications Juliette Touma, Channel 4 host Krishnan Guru-Murthy challenged her as to why staff members had been dismissed if the allegations were not credible.

In response, Touma told Channel 4: “the commissioner general took that decision in the best interests of the agency.”

“Do you understand the question I’m asking you?” the host pressed. “I understand that there are allegations made, you then sacked those people, terminated their employment, did you take that step normally… because of evidence that has not yet been placed in the public domain? Or merely because of the seriousness of those allegations?”

“The latter,” she said, “because of the seriousness of these allegations and the commissioner general of UNWRA did this in the best interests of the agency, due to the huge risks to the reputation of the agency and also [risks to] the largest humanitarian operation in response to the war in Gaza.”

Following the accusations, UN Secretary-General called for an investigation into UNRWA, led by a former French foreign minister, to assess the veracity of the allegations and ensure accountability.

Channel 4 reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed frustration over UN reports highlighting Gaza’s humanitarian crisis, which were cited in the genocide hearing. His stance on UNRWA has become increasingly adamant.

Meanwhile, UNRWA counters with evidence of its critical role in humanitarian efforts, showcasing photographs of a food aid truck allegedly struck by Israeli naval gunfire, a claim yet to be addressed by Israeli officials.