US Intelligence Cannot Independently Verify Israel's Accusations Against UNRWA

Palestinian refugee tents in Gaza. (Twitter/@UNRWA)

JAKARTA - A US intelligence report found that Israel's claims regarding the presence of UN aid agency staff for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in Gaza involved in the Hamas militant group attack could not be independently verified.

The US National Intelligence Council said in a report last week it was "uncertain" that it was "not convinced" that staff at the UN agency took part in violence in southern Israel on October 7, citing The National News of The Wall Street Journal February 22.

The "low trust" conclusion means the US intelligence community believes Israel's claims may make sense, but American agencies cannot independently confirm the claims.

Israel has accused dozens of people employed by UNRWA of involvement in Hamas-led attacks, which Israel data says killed about 1,139 people.

The United Nations has fired several members mentioned in the allegations. Others have died since Israel began its military operations in Gaza.

The claim caused the US and a number of countries that became UNRWA donors to freeze funds for the agency responsible for providing important humanitarian assistance to Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the occupied West Bank and countries in the region.

The report added that although UNRWA routinely had to coordinate with Hamas to operate in Gaza, this did not mean that the UN agency directly collaborated with the militant group.

The intelligence report findings are in stark contrast to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's statement in January, which said the allegations against UNRWA were "very, very credible".

The Wall Street Journal also reports Israel has not "divided raw intelligence information behind its assessment with the US", despite strong security ties between the two countries.

Earlier, Israel had shared documents outlining its allegations, along with details of where the evidence came from, to the US and several western news organizations.

Separately, the United Nations has begun an independent investigation into UNRWA to verify Israel's claims and take necessary action.

However, UN and UNRWA leaders said Israel had not shared any evidence to assist the investigation.

"We are now asking the Israeli state to work together fully to provide evidence to the investigative team," UNRWA Director Philippe Lazzarini told Haaretz on Wednesday.