UNRWA Fires 70 Gaza Staff Over Alleged Hamas Ties

UNRWA has dismissed 70 employees in the Gaza Strip after allegations that they had links to Hamas, following heavy pressure and investigations by the watchdog group UN Watch. The move was made by Christian Saunders, UNRWA’s acting chief, and came amid mounting scrutiny from UN Watch reports and inquiries from the U.S. aid agency USAID.

UN Watch said the firings were welcome but only a first step. The group said more than 100 employees with ties to the terrorist organization were still employed, and its director general, Hillel Neuer, argued that many more remained on the payroll.

“This is a drop in the ocean, there are still 1,500 Hamas operatives receiving a salary from the U.N.,” Neuer said. He added that UN Watch’s continuing documentation of Hamas infiltration into UNRWA, including a “terror network” map identifying at least 400 operatives, together with referrals from USAID’s inspector general, had finally forced the agency to act.

Neuer said the action taken today was “only the beginning,” and claimed that for years UN Watch had exposed how teachers, school principals and other UNRWA staff were intertwined with Hamas activity, including terror leaders who head their workers’ unions.