🚨 Netanyahu orders UNRWA’s Jerusalem HQ evacuated due to employee involvment in October 7
Israeli authorities on Tuesday ordered and began the evacuation of a remaining United Nations Relief and Works Agency compound in Jerusalem.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directed the move against UNRWA facilities in the city, citing documented involvement by some agency employees in the October 7 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel.
Security forces including police and the IDF entered the Kafr Aqab site, which houses a training center and related buildings. Officials described it as the last active UNRWA location still operating in Jerusalem after earlier seizures and demolitions of the agency headquarters earlier this year.
The action follows Knesset legislation from late 2024 that prohibits UNRWA from conducting any operations or maintaining contacts within Israeli sovereign territory including East Jerusalem.
Israeli officials have long maintained that UNRWA staff participated in the October 7 assault and that the agency has allowed Hamas infiltration of its ranks and facilities. UNRWA previously terminated contracts of several employees after Israeli intelligence shared evidence of their roles.
The agency has rejected broader characterizations of systemic ties while continuing to operate elsewhere under international mandates.
