UNRWA fires 70 Gaza staffers amid Israeli accusations agency riddled with Hamas operatives

"The UN agency for Palestinian refugees has said it has fired 70 employees in Gaza ‘to mitigate safety and security risks for the refugees’ amid Israeli accusations that many of its staffers were Hamas operatives.

Announcing the move on Thursday, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) temporary head Christian Saunders said the firings took place with ‘immediate effect’ and ‘were taken further to an assessment of the safety and security of UNRWA operations in Gaza.’

However, the statement did not mention Hamas and stated that ‘the dismissal of the staff is not part of a disciplinary process and does not constitute in any way a validation of the claims made against them.’

‘UNRWA has repeatedly asked the Israeli authorities to provide information and evidence to substantiate allegations against individual UNRWA staff members in Gaza, but has received no response to date,’ the statement claimed.

Israel has repeatedly alleged and shown evidence that employees of the agency were actively involved in terror groups in the Gaza Strip, and some participated in the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led invasion and slaughter.

Israel has also shown repeated use of UNRWA infrastructure for terror activities and provided evidence that the agency’s schools incited hatred of Israel and glorification of attacks against Israelis..."