Israeli allegations against UNRWA

In early 2024, Israel made a series of allegations against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), including that a number of its Gaza Strip staff had participated in the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, and that hundreds of them were members of militant groups.^[1] The allegations led to aid cuts to the organization, most of which were later reversed with the exception of the United States, the organization's largest donor, after inquiries found the membership claims to be unsubstantiated.^[2][3][4] The claims of participation in the attacks are being investigated, some already dismissed for lack of evidence.^[5] UNRWA, which for decades had faced Israeli allegations surrounding its neutrality, is the largest relief organization in the Gaza Strip that is undergoing a humanitarian crisis and famine during the Israel-Hamas war.

In January 2024, Israel alleged that 12 UNRWA employees, 0.1% of its staff,^[6] participated in the attacks in various capacities,^[7][8][9] later expanding this claim to 19, alongside 400 personnel.^[10] Israel also alleged that around ten percent of the UNRWA's 13,000 employees in the Gaza Strip have connections to Islamist militant groups, primarily Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and that 190 UNRWA employees were militants.^[11] Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner-general of UNRWA, said the organization had dismissed the employees concerned,^[a] and launched an investigation.^{[13][14][15][16]} Lazzarini clarified on 9 February that he had fired the staff without looking into any evidence, deciding that swift action was the priority in the circumstances.^[17] On 19 February, Lazzarini stated Israel had not provided any evidence to support its claim.^[18] In late February, a US intelligence report cast doubt on the Israeli claims.^[19] An UNRWA report from February 2024 stated that Israel coerced some of its employees to falsely admit Hamas links under torture.^[20][21]

Immediately following the allegations several major donor countries suspended their funding, including the United States.^[22] Several international organisations, including the World Health Organization and Doctors Without Borders, said the decision to suspend funding would exacerbate the humanitarian situation in Gaza caused by the Israeli invasion.^[23] In response, some other Western countries – including Spain,^[24] Portugal,^[25][26] Ireland,^[27][28] and Poland^[29] – increased their funding of UNRWA. An independent Review Group led by Catherine Colonna published a report on 22 April 2024 finding that the agency had structures in place to ensure neutrality, although issues remain,^[30] that Israel had not provided evidence for its claims of significant UNRWA employee involvement in terrorist organisations and that UNRWA is indispensable to Palestinians in the region. Following publication of the report, Germany announced that it would resume funding of UNRWA, following similar decisions made earlier other major donors, including Australia, Canada, Sweden and Japan.^[31][32] The EU, which had suspended funding pending the outcome of the UNRWA investigations, restored and increased its funding on 1 March 2024 while Australia, Austria, Canada, Italy, Japan, Sweden and Finland are to resume funding.^[33][34] On 23 March 2024, the US cut all UNRWA funding until March 2025.^[35]

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