U.S.: Three UNRWA ‘Teachers’ Held Hostages and Took Part in October 7 Attack

The United States has announced that three teachers will be barred from all activities at UNRWA institutions receiving American funding. Two were identified as Hamas members and one as a member of Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The Jerusalem Post reported this today (Thursday), based on reports from the United States.

According to the U.S. investigation, one of them took part in the abductions on October 7, while another held Israeli hostages in Gaza. According to the report, the three former UNRWA teachers were recommended for full debarment from all U.S. federally funded activities for 10 years, following findings from an official investigation by the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID OIG).

The decision was made after the investigation linked the three to clear terrorist activity and direct involvement in the events of October 7, 2023. The three include a Hamas member in the Deir al-Balah Battalion and a former teacher who is suspected of having actively participated in the raid into Israel and in the abduction of civilians.

Another Hamas member, a terrorist in the Deir al-Balah Battalion and also a former teacher, was found by the investigation to have physically held civilian hostages inside the Gaza Strip. The third is a member of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a terrorist in the Rafah Brigade and former teacher who was identified as an operative in the organization and actively participated in the terrorist attack and invasion of Israel.

In addition, it was reported that the debarment of Faisal Ali al-Naami, a UNRWA social worker, was also considered part of the same case, after security camera footage documented him loading the body of hostage Yonatan Samrano, of blessed memory, from Kibbutz Be’eri. The terrorist was later eliminated.