UNRWA October 7 controversy

On 26 January 2024, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) announced it was investigating allegations, presented to it by Israel nearly two weeks before, of the involvement of a handful of its employees in the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel.

According to Israel, between 4 to 12 UNRWA employees were involved in the attacks, and are accused of participating in various capacities, ranging from roles in logistics and weapons procurement to hostage taking and direct participation in the attacks. Israel alleges 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.

Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner-general of UNRWA, said the organization had dismissed the employees concerned, and launched an investigation, adding that any staff found responsible would face consequences. UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that nine UNRWA employees had been dismissed, one was deceased, and the identities of two other individuals involved in the case were under clarification. Lazzarini clarified on 9 February that he had followed "reverse due process", firing the staff without looking into any evidence, deciding that swift action was the priority in the circumstances.

The controversy led to several countries to halt funding to UNRWA, including the United States, Germany, and Australia, while other countries increased funding. The funds halt was criticized by several international organizations, considering the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip due to the Israeli invasion, including, the World Health Organization, Doctors Without Borders, and Amnesty International, which stated that the world's richest countries had made a "heartless decision ... to punish the most vulnerable population on earth because of the alleged crimes of 12 people".