The Trump administration has removed diplomatic immunity from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in U.S. courts, reversing a Biden-era policy and enabling families of Hamas victims to pursue legal action.
The Department of Justice announced on April 25, 2025, that UNRWA is not immune from a lawsuit filed by survivors and families of over 100 victims of Hamas’s October 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel which claimed the lives of 1,200 individuals. The plaintiffs are seeking $1 billion in damages, alleging that UNRWA aided the attackers and funded Hamas through a money-laundering scheme.
The lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of New York, accuses UNRWA of facilitating terrorism by allowing Hamas militants to store weapons in its facilities and construct tunnels and command centers beneath its sites. Previously, the Biden administration had sided with UNRWA, asserting that the agency could not be prosecuted in U.S. courts due to diplomatic immunity.
UNRWA has faced longstanding scrutiny over alleged ties to terrorism. A Wall Street Journal report, citing Israeli intelligence, indicated that approximately 1,200 UNRWA staffers—about 10 percent of the agency’s workforce—were linked to terrorist groups, and that 49 percent of the employees had close relatives with official ties to terrorism.
The Justice Department also questioned the legality of UNRWA’s establishment, suggesting that the U.N. Charter may not authorize the General Assembly to create a subsidiary organ like UNRWA, as its functions are not typical of those performed by the General Assembly.
The Trump administration cited national security and justice for terror victims as justification for the move, further aligning legal action with the administration’s broader strategy on Iran and its terror affiliatesThe Trump administration cited national security and justice for terror victims as justification for the move, further aligning legal action with the administration’s broader strategy on Iran and its terror affiliates.
