Israel targets UN workers and infrastructure in Gaza
The Israeli Response
There is a surprising connection between Hamas and a noteworthy number of UN personnel and facilities in Gaza, which include schools, hospitals, and shelters.
Unfortunately, there is no clear distinction between Hamas and UNRWA.
UNRWA (The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) is the primary UN agency operating in the Gaza Strip. The organization is in charge of providing services such as education and healthcare to Gazan civilians.
UNRWA is primarily funded by Western countries, with an approximate $1.6 billion budget. The United States is its leading donor, contributing $344 million in 2022 and several hundred million dollars in 2023.
UNRWA sites are misused by Hamas to cover up weapons, militants, and infrastructure
Hamas has been using UNRWA facilities for various purposes that violate their neutrality and humanitarian mandate. These include:
Storing weapons and ammunition: Hamas has hidden rockets and other weaponry inside UNRWA schools and warehouses.
Launching attacks from UN premises: There have been confirmed instances where armed groups have fired rockets and staged attacks from within UN facilities.
Using UN vehicles for military purposes: Hamas has been using UN-marked vehicles for transporting fighters or weapons.
These actions endanger the lives of UN personnel and civilians seeking humanitarian assistance.
They also undermine the neutrality and effectiveness of UN operations in Gaza, making it harder to deliver vital aid to those in need.
Many UNRWA workers and teachers have praised and glorified Hamas’s attack on October 7th. Some even helped plan and participated in the massacre
A report by UN Watch uncovers 20 UNRWA teachers and other staff members who celebrated the October 7th Hamas massacre of Israeli civilians on their social media accounts. Here are just some of the educators who used their personal social media channels to propagate hate and celebrate the Hamas terror attack on October 7th:
UNRWA Gaza teacher Osama Ahmed posted “Allah is Great, Allah is Great, reality surpasses our wildest dreams,” while the massacre was unfolding.
UNRWA school principal Iman Hassan justified the massacre as “restoring rights” and “redressing” Palestinian “grievances.”
Director of the UNRWA Khan Younis Training Center Rawia Helles glorified one of the terrorists as a “hero,” “raider,” and “prince of Khan Younis.”
UNRWA English teacher Asmaa Raffia Kuheil excitedly posted “7th, October, 2023! Sculpture the date!” adding a heart emoji.
UNRWA school administrator Hmada Ahmed posted “welcome the great October.”
One of the released Israeli hostages testified that he had been held captive by an UNRWA teacher. The hostage said the teacher locked him away and barely fed or cared for his medical treatment.
Recently, the IDF surfaced copies of official letters written by Hamas’ military wing, personally delivered and addressed to the Head of the Gaza Education Ministry, excusing the teachers from work so they could participate in “military training” exercises. These letters are dated several days before October 7th.
In 2004, Commissioner-General of UNRWA Peter Hansen unapologetically admitted that the UN employs members of Hamas. "Oh, I am sure that there are Hamas members on the UNRWA payroll," Hansen stated, "and I don't see that as a crime. Hamas as a political organization does not mean that every member is a militant, and we do not do political vetting and exclude people from one persuasion as against another".
The astonishing amount of incitement spread by UNRWA in its education system over the years has contributed to the empowerment of Hamas and the October 7th massacre.
More than half of UNRWA’s budget is invested in education. That applies to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank as well.
The Palestinian Authority curriculum is taught in the 370 UNRWA-run schools across the Gaza Strip, West Bank, and Jerusalem, educating over 320,000 students as of 2019, according to UNRWA’s data.
More than half of the students in Gaza get their education in UNRWA-operated schools.
According to a 2021 research conducted by IMPACT-se on UNRWA-produced material, Schools in Gaza and the West Bank have indoctrinated children with extreme Jew hatred.
Students are taught that “Jews spread corruption,” and that “the fate of Israeli Jews is extermination”.
Israel is “the enemy”, whose “neck must be cut off”.
Terrorists are paraded as role models, glorifying death and teaching that “martyrdom” will be rewarded.
Students are taught mathematics by counting “martyred terrorists.”
The phrase “Jihad is one of the doors to paradise” is also part of their education.
The report reveals that the international community is literally paying to teach Jew hatred and to bring about the massacre of Jews.
Following the report, UNRWA promised that all hate material produced by the organization would be removed and no longer circulated, where its teachers had “mistakenly” produced and distributed the “inappropriate material.”
An updated report from 2023 reveals that UNRWA never stopped distributing hateful content to Palestinian students. And yet, the UN and the international community haven’t taken any considerable measures to address this issue.
On January 26th, 2024, the United States paused funding for UNRWA, following allegations that 12 of its employees had been involved in the attacks on October 7th.
UN Chief Antonio Guterres said that he was “horrified” by the accusations, yet the evidence shown above suggests that he was well aware of UNRWA’s ties to Hamas, the exploitation of its infrastructure, and the involvement of its employees in terrorism.
Within a day, the governments of Australia, Canada, Italy, Finland, the UK, Scotland, Switzerland, Germany, and the Netherlands decided to halt their funding for UNRWA as well.
From the media
Hamas policemen guarding an aid truck as it reaches the UNRWA logistics base in Rafah
A Hamas terrorist’s fighting vest found in Gaza with the identification tag of UNRWA
Letters written by Hamas to excuse teachers due to their necessity as combatants
Weapons found in Jabalia, Gaza. Some of them were found in UNRWA bags
Hamas rockets found hidden among boxes of UNRWA relief supplies in northern Gaza
UNRWA bags jammed at a Hamas tunnel entrance
UNRWA-produced study material (Arabic Language, Grade 6)
This UN school in Gaza was not only used for studying: IDF finds weapons, bombs hidden inside
The direct involvement of United Nations personnel in the October 7th massacre holds legal significance because many of the claims made against Israel in the International Court of Justice rely on information provided by UNRWA representatives. The active participation of UNRWA employees in a terrorist attack raises questions regarding the credibility of UNRWA as an organization in charge of publishing data regarding the war in Gaza, such as casualty figures and civilian harm assessments.
Conclusions
UNRWA's initial goal was to support and advance Palestinian refugees, not to support the development of terrorism. Yet UNRWA became a prominent player in Palestinian terrorism, and the October 7th massacre. Therefore, the claim that the IDF attacks UN workers is misleading and unsubstantiated; it only attacks them if they are also terrorists.
