How the UNRWA Funding Boycott Threatens Gaza’s Aid Lifeline

The US, Germany and Japan are among more than a dozen countries that have suspended funding to the UN agency that supports Palestinian refugees, following allegations by Israel that 13 staffers were directly involved in the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks that killed some 1,200 people. Israel has long accused the UN Relief and Works Agency, or UNRWA, of giving cover to Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip and is designated a terrorist group by the US and European Union. The US has suspended funding to UNRWA before. The latest cutoff, amid the Israel-Hamas war, threatens an already fragile humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, where more than 2 million Palestinians — most of them displaced from their homes by the conflict — depend on UNRWA for food, water and shelter.

An Israeli intelligence assessment, shared with the US and international media outlets, accuses 13 UNRWA employees, including teachers and social workers, of direct involvement in the Oct. 7 massacre. According to the document seen by Bloomberg News, 12 of them were members of either Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad, another militant group; four participated in kidnappings of Israelis; six infiltrated into Israel during the Hamas invasion; and some helped coordinate weapons used in the attacks. Israel believes as many at 10% of all UNRWA employees are members of militant groups. Bloomberg News could not independently verify these claims.