Israel Claims To Kill Hamas Commander Who Is A Prisoner Of UN Assistance Workers

JAKARTA - The Israeli military said on Thursday it had killed a Hamas commander who took part in the October attack last year in southern Israel and also worked for the UN aid agency in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli military said Mohammad Abu Itiwi was killed on Wednesday. It said he was a Hamas commander and had been involved in the killing and kidnapping of Israeli civilians. It is also said he has been employed by UNRWA (the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency) since July 2022 and his name appears on the agency's employee list.

"Israel has asked for urgent clarification from senior UN officials and an urgent investigation into the involvement of UNRWA employees in the October 7 massacre," said Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel

UNRWA confirmed Itiwi was a staff member and died on Wednesday. It said Itiwi's name was listed in a letter UNRWA received from Israel in July containing a list of 100 staff who were also suspected of being members of an armed group, including Hamas.

"Commissioner general UNRWA immediately responded to the letter by stating that any allegations were taken seriously. He urged (the Israeli government) to cooperate with the agency by providing further information so that it could take action. Until now, UNRWA has not received any responses to the letter," he said.

It is known that UNRWA is accused by Israel of having many employees concurrently serving as members of Hamas and other armed groups. The UN, after conducting an investigation, said in August nine UNRWA staff may have been involved in the October 7, 2023 attacks and fired them.

UNRWA provides education, health, and assistance to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. His relationship with Israel has long been strained, but the relationship has deteriorated sharply since the start of the war in Gaza and Israel has repeatedly called for UNRWA to be dissolved.