UNRWA fires 70 Gaza staffers as it grapples with ‘Hamas problem’
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has fired 70 staffers in Gaza after a federal watchdog probe found ties between more than 100 of its employees and the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.
UNRWA Commissioner-General ad interim Christian Saunders said in a statement that the firings were “not part of a disciplinary process” and do not confirm the allegations, but were part of an internal assessment of safety and security in Gaza operations. He also said the agency has repeatedly asked Israeli authorities for evidence backing the claims but has received no response.
On Monday, the U.S. Agency for International Development Office of Inspector General referred more than 100 UNRWA employees for suspension or debarment from receiving U.S. taxpayer funds for 10 years over alleged roles in the attack. A senior State Department official said it was “telling” that the watchdog’s investigation was needed for UNRWA to acknowledge a Hamas problem, and said it could help prevent aid groups from hiring Hamas members.
In total, 108 employees will be barred from U.S. funding for “participation” in the attack that killed about 1,200 people in Israel, including 46 Americans, or for affiliation with Hamas.
“Among the individuals referred were UNRWA school principals, teachers, security personnel, attendants, psychosocial counselors, and medical professionals,” the USAID OIG’s investigative summary stated.
Senate Republicans led by Sen. Tom Cotton have called to fully dismantle UNRWA and remove it from the UN budget. An administration source said the White House has discussed using funding cutoffs to pressure the UN to break from the agency.
Trump signed an executive order in February 2025 yanking federal funding for UNRWA, which had previously received between $350 and $360 million in voluntary contributions from Washington. More than $839 million flowed directly to the agency from other countries that calendar year. The UN’s annual budget, to which the US still contributes, earmarks around $70 million for UNRWA, giving the agency a total budget of nearly $1 billion.
The USAID OIG probe is examining up to 1,500 UNRWA employees, and parallel investigations are underway by the Department of Justice and the FBI.
