The UN will investigate the possible participation of its employees in the Hamas attack

The UN is launching an investigation into the involvement of United Nations Agency for Palestine (UNRWA) personnel in the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7. UN Secretary General Stephane Dujarric told reporters, Ukrinform reports. .

“The Secretary-General was horrified by this news…,” he said. “There will be an immediate and comprehensive independent review by UNRWA,” Dujarric said.

He said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday asked UNRWA Commissioner-General Filiap Lazzarini to conduct an investigation so that any staff who participated or contributed to the October 7 attacks be immediately dismissed and handed over to law enforcement for possible criminal prosecution.

Guterres took this initiative after the UK, Italy, the Netherlands and Finland, the USA, Australia and Canada suspended funding for the agency during the investigation.

According to Reuters, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry criticized what it called “the Israeli campaign against UNRWA” and condemned Hamas’ termination of workers’ contracts “based on information received from the Zionist enemy.”

Lazzarini said Friday that he decided to terminate the contracts of some employees to protect the agency’s ability to provide humanitarian aid.

He did not say the number of officers involved in the attacks or the nature of their involvement. But he noted that “any UNRWA employee who participates in acts of terrorism” will be held accountable, including through criminal prosecution.

Earlier, the UN reported a threat to cut aid to Ukrainians. They note that the war in Ukraine has lost international attention, and the war in the Gaza Strip dominates the headlines of the world media.