A federal inspector general has referred more than 100 United Nations aid workers for suspension or debarment from receiving U.S. taxpayer dollars after finding they participated in Hamas’s October 7, 2023, terror attack against Israel or held active affiliation with the terror group.
The U.S. Agency for International Development’s Office of Inspector General submitted 101 additional names for debarment or suspension, bringing the total number of UNRWA staff blocked from U.S. foreign aid funding to 108. The referrals were outlined in an investigative summary.
The attack killed approximately 1,200 people in Israel, including 46 American citizens.
“Among the individuals referred were UNRWA school principals, teachers, security personnel, attendants, psychosocial counselors, and medical professionals,” the USAID OIG summary stated.
Among the most striking findings: one UNRWA deputy school principal simultaneously served as a deputy commander in Hamas’s al-Qassam Brigades military wing. A second deputy school principal was a squad leader in a Khan Younis brigade.
At least five UNRWA employees held teaching positions while simultaneously serving as military or intelligence officials for Hamas or its affiliated forces in Gaza. One of those teachers moved anti-tank missiles during the October 7 massacre.
Other principals facilitated communications during the attack or worked in schools where Hamas operated anti-tank positions and dug tunnels beneath the facilities.
All 108 individuals are now barred from receiving U.S. foreign aid funding for 10 years.
USAID OIG’s investigation, which has been running parallel to a federal criminal probe, is now examining a total of 1,500 UNRWA staff members for possible Hamas ties, according to the Washington Free Beacon. A senior State Department official confirmed that figure to the New York Post.
“It remains USAID OIG’s investigative priority to ensure that U.S.-funded humanitarian assistance in Gaza does not fall into the hands of Hamas and other foreign terrorist organizations, depriving assistance from reaching civilian non-combatants in need,” the summary concluded.
