Israel accuses UN staff of involvement in Gaza war, prompting donors to suspending UNRWA funding

’유엔직원 하마스 연계’ 파문 가자지구 구호 ’지뢰’ 터져 Staying on the international front. Israel has made an alarming accusation against at least a dozen UN workers at the agency for Palestinian refugees asserting that they played a tangible part in the October 7th attack against Israel led by Hamas. Lee Eun-jin covers this allegation and its related repercussions. More than 10 countries, including major donors such as the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany, have suspended funding to the UNRWA, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East since Friday. This was following an Israeli intelligence dossier presenting allegations that some staff took part in abductions and killings during the October 7th raid that sparked the Gaza war. According to Reuters, the six-page document claims some 190 UNRWA employees, including teachers, have doubled as Hamas or Islamic Jihad militants, with names and pictures for 11 of them. A UN spokesperson said that the organization has not formally received a copy of the dossier, and reiterated that the UNRWA would be unable to continue operations in Gaza and across the region beyond the end of February if funding isn’t resumed. “The United Nations taking swift action following the extremely serious allegations made against several staff members from UNRWA.“ “The critical humanitarian work that the U.N. does, not only in and in, in Gaza, all over the region, needs to be supported. People’s lives depend on it.“ He added that organization chief, Antonio Guterres, met with the head of internal UN investigations to ensure that an inquiry into the allegations “will be done swiftly and as efficiently as possible.“ At a news conference, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the allegations were “highly credible“ and “deeply troubling.“ Without saying how soon or under what circumstances the U.S. would consider resuming support for UNRWA, Blinken said that Washington would be looking very hard at the steps UNRWA takes in response. “The reports that we got last week and UNWRA brought them to us were deeply, deeply troubling. It is imperative that UNWRA immediately, as it said it would, investigate, that it hold people accountable as necessary and that it review its procedures. The recent revelation jeopardizes aid operations in the region, as the agency supported more than half of Gaza’s 2-point-3 million Palestinians in day-to-day assistance, which have already been stretched thin by the long-running war. Lee Eunjin, Arirang News. #UNRWA_funding #UN_workers #UN_Relief_and_Works_Agency #Israel_Hamas_war #Middle_East #UN_staff #Gaza_war #유엔직원_하마스_연계 #이스라엘_하마스_전쟁 #가자전쟁 #Arirang_News #아리랑뉴스 📣 Facebook : 📣 Twitter : 📣 Homepage : 2024-01-30, 14:00 (KST)