UNRWA

The United States said it has decided to bar several individuals working at UNRWA-affiliated institutions from federally funded activities after finding that some employees were connected to Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad. In one case, three teachers were identified: one allegedly took part in the October 7 attack, while another held Israeli hostages in Gaza.

A week after Israel’s High Court of Justice said it would not intervene in the Knesset’s UNRWA law, Israeli forces began clearing the agency’s compound in Kafr Aqab. During a previous attempt six months ago, a terrorist fired at the forces sent to carry out the operation.

According to a report, UN Watch is urging the U.N. to remove the legal immunity of outgoing UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini over allegations of complicity in terrorism.

UNRWA says it has dismissed 70 employees in the Gaza Strip over their ties to Hamas. Monitoring group UN Watch welcomed the move, but argued that thousands of additional staffers identified with the organization are still employed by the agency.