A new U.S. intelligence assessment has found that some United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) personnel likely took part in the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack in Israel, but the U.S. also It also said it could not verify many Israeli claims. The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that U.N. officials have ties to armed groups.
The Biden administration recently suspended funding to the controversial United Nations agency that provides aid to Palestinian refugees. This comes as Israel shared findings alleging that at least 12 UNRWA personnel were “involved” in Hamas attacks and kidnappings that triggered the ongoing war in Gaza. The U.S. government had allocated $51 million for fiscal year 2024 before the suspension.
“Israeli intelligence has announced that it has concluded that 10% of all UNRWA personnel have some kind of connection, usually political, to Hamas.” The Wall Street Journal reported. “Far fewer had ties to Hamas or another group, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants. UNRWA employs about 12,000 people in Gaza.”
In a new report reported by the Journal as completed last week, the US National Intelligence Council said it assessed as credible allegations that 12 UNRWA employees participated in the October 7 attack. .
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment.
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Palestinians stand near the entrance to a UNRWA school used as a shelter in Gaza City on November 27, 2023. (Omar El-Katta/AFP via Getty Images)
As officials told the Wall Street Journal, the new intelligence assessment “does not refute Israel’s claims about ties between some UNWRA personnel and extremist groups, but it does “provides a more cautious assessment of Israel’s claims than official statements from Israeli officials.” ”
“In mid-January, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs verbally informed UNRWA colleagues in Jerusalem of very serious allegations regarding 12 staff members,” a UN spokesperson told Fox News Digital. [members’] Possibly involved in the October 7 Hamast terrorist attack in Israel. ”
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President Biden speaks at the United Nations in New York City on September 19, 2023. (Liu Guanguan/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images)
“UNRWA took immediate action. Since then, Israeli authorities have provided no further information to the United Nations regarding the alleged activities of its staff. If information is provided, it will be quickly analyzed and swiftly acted upon again.” will be taken,” the spokesperson said.
An Israeli official told the Wall Street Journal that Israel was not familiar with the U.S. assessment, adding: “We share intimate information with our U.S. partners in all areas.” The official briefed on the matter was not aware of any U.S. requests for additional information.
Fox News Digital reported this month. israel defense forces The (IDF) launched a raid on a Hamas facility in the Gaza Strip, killing 120 terrorists and discovering a “substantial amount” of assets and weapons, including inside a United Nations building.
The Israeli military said in a joint statement with the Israeli Security Agency (ISA) on Saturday that attacks had been carried out in northern Gaza over the past two weeks.
A joint statement from the ISA and the Israeli military said: “The troops operated in the Shati and Tel al-Hawa areas of northern Gaza.” “As part of the operation, approximately 120 Hamas terrorists were killed and 20 terrorist infrastructure facilities were destroyed.”
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Israeli tanks near the Israel-Gaza border in southern Israel, January 17, 2024. (AP/Ohad Zwigenberg)
The IDF said the ISA initially directed them to a tunnel shaft near a school operated by UNRWA, adding: “The shaft leads to underground terror tunnels that serve as key assets for Hamas’s military intelligence and is the headquarters of UNRWA. It was passing under a building that functions as a In the Gaza Strip. ”
The Israeli military said it raided the 700-metre-long tunnel and seized “a wide range of intelligence assets”, but did not specify what was found.
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The Israel Defense Forces said that “the newly discovered information will enable its forces to conduct operations against additional Hamas targets.” “Demolition of the tunnels weakens Hamas’s intelligence capabilities.”
This discovery eventually led the military to UNRWA headquarters, where Israeli forces discovered that the UNRWA building was powering Hamas tunnels.
The State Department and the Department of National Intelligence did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment. The National Security Council also did not respond to requests for comment.
A UNRWA spokesperson told FOX News Digital: “No evidence has been presented by Israeli authorities. However, given the fact that an investigation is underway by the United Nations’ top investigating authority, we are committed to supporting all countries “We request cooperation from political parties, institutions, and other parties.” Provide information, including information available in the public domain, to the Internal Monitoring Service at United Nations Headquarters to further this investigation. ”
Fox News Digital’s Andrea Vacchiano contributed to this report.
