Israel Accuses 450 UN ARWA Assistance Agency Workers Of Being Hamas Military Operators And Other Militant Groups

UNRWA service at the Palestinian refugee shelter. (Twitter/@UNRWA)

JAKARTA - The Israeli military on Monday said UN aid agencies in Gaza UNRWA employed more than 450 "military operators" from Hamas and other armed militant groups, with this intelligence information being shared with the United Nations.

UNRWA became the center of a diplomatic storm on Israeli charges, which said many of its employees concurrently served as members of Hamas, some of whom even took part in the October 7 attacks that sparked war in Gaza, prompting the United States and other countries to have stopped funding for UNRWA.

"More than 450 UNRWA employees are members of the military in terror groups in Gaza. More than 450 people. This is not just a coincidence. This is systematic. There is no claim 'We don't know'," military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel

"We are sending the information I share now, as well as further intelligence information, to our international partners, including the United Nations," he continued.

In response to this, UNRWA said it welcomed all information that could be included in the UN's independent investigation which is currently underway.

"UNRWA encourages any entity with information about serious accusations against UNRWA staff to share them with ongoing UN investigations," said UNRWA Communications Chief calm Touma.

Earlier, Palestinian leaders accused Israel of carrying out a political attack on UNRWA, calling for funding for the agency to resume.

It is known that UNRWA employs 13,000 staff in Gaza, providing daily assistance to more than half of the 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza. The freezing of funding dramatically exacerbated the tensions experienced by the agency which has been very burdened for nearly five months of war.

Israel has pledged to continue its devastating attacks until it eliminates Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza and vowed to destroy Israel, ensuring the release of more than 100 Israeli hostages who are still in Gaza.

The latest conflict in Gaza broke out when Hamas invaded Israel on October 7 in an attack that killed 1,200 people and resulted in 253 other people being kidnapped, according to Israeli tallies.

The attack sparked an Israeli attack on Hamas-controlled Gaza. The Ministry of Health in Gaza said on Monday, the death toll of Palestinians had reached 30,534, while about 71,920 others were injured, as quoted by Anadolu.