{"id":3835,"date":"2026-07-17T21:45:43","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T21:45:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nile1.com\/en\/?p=3835"},"modified":"2026-07-17T21:45:47","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T21:45:47","slug":"u-s-investigation-targets-1500-unrwa-staff-over-alleged-terrorist-ties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nile1.com\/en\/2026\/07\/17\/u-s-investigation-targets-1500-unrwa-staff-over-alleged-terrorist-ties\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Investigation Targets 1,500 UNRWA Staff Over Alleged Terrorist Ties"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>WASHINGTON<\/strong> \u2014 U.S. federal investigators have expanded a sweeping probe into the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), identifying more than 1,500 employees with alleged ties to foreign terrorist organizations in Gaza. The investigation, led by the USAID Office of the Inspector General (OIG), marks a significant escalation in congressional and executive scrutiny of the agency\u2019s neutrality and its ability to insulate humanitarian operations from Hamas infiltration.<\/p>\n<p>The USAID OIG, an independent law enforcement arm, recently referred 108 current or former UNRWA staff members to the State Department for suspension or debarment. These individuals are accused of participating in the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel or maintaining active membership in designated terrorist groups. The move aims to prevent these individuals from working with any organization receiving U.S. taxpayer funding.<\/p>\n<p>UNRWA was established by the U.N. General Assembly in 1949 to provide relief to Palestinian refugees following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Unlike the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which has a global mandate, UNRWA operates exclusively in the Levant. For decades, the agency has faced criticism over its educational curriculum and its proximity to Hamas, which the State Department designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) in 1997 and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist group (SDGT) in 2001.<\/p>\n<p>This picture taken during a media tour organized by the Israeli army on February 8, 2024, shows Israeli soldiers inside an evacuated compound of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in Gaza City. (Jack Guez\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<h3>Scope of the Investigation<\/h3>\n<p>A U.S. diplomatic official briefed on the matter confirmed to Fox News Digital that the investigation\u2019s scope is far broader than the initial U.N. inquiry conducted in 2024. While the U.N. Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) investigated 19 employees regarding the Oct. 7 attacks\u2014terminating nine and citing insufficient evidence for ten\u2014the USAID OIG probe looks beyond direct participation in the massacre to broader institutional infiltration.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUSAID OIG\u2019s investigation is helping prevent terrorists from criss-crossing across aid organizations that have received or are seeking U.S. or Board of Peace funding,\u201d a senior U.S. official stated. The official noted that the probe \u201csmartly picked up where the U.N. failed\u201d by examining the systemic presence of militants within the agency\u2019s ranks.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nile1.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/un-trucks-gaza.jpg\" alt=\"UNRWA aid trucks\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" title=\"\"> <\/p>\n<p>Aid trucks of The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) deliver aid near Gaza City on June 19. (Dawoud Abo Alkas\/Anadolu via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>The individuals referred for debarment represent a cross-section of UNRWA\u2019s professional staff, including school principals, teachers, medical professionals, security personnel, and psychosocial counselors. Among the specific cases cited by the OIG:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A school principal who allegedly worked with a Hamas military manufacturing unit; investigators found three anti-tank positions and a tunnel shaft beneath his school.<\/li>\n<li>Two deputy school principals who served as a Hamas deputy company commander and a squad leader, respectively.<\/li>\n<li>A teacher with specialized expertise as a sniper for Hamas.<\/li>\n<li>A teacher who was reportedly ordered to transport anti-tank missiles during the Oct. 7 terror attacks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>One prominent figure, Hafez Mousa Mohammed Mousa, has already been banned from future work with U.S. government entities. An UNRWA school principal, Mousa is accused of coordinating communications for the Hamas East Jabaliya Battalion during the Oct. 7 invasion.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nile1.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/hamas-terrorists-gaza.jpg\" alt=\"Hamas terrorists in Gaza.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" title=\"\"> <\/p>\n<p>Hamas terrorists in the northern Gaza Strip on Dec. 1, 2025. (Omar Al-Qatta \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<h3>Diplomatic and Political Fallout<\/h3>\n<p>The findings have intensified calls for a permanent cessation of U.S. funding to UNRWA. A State Department spokesperson emphasized that President Trump and Secretary Rubio have consistently maintained that no funding will be provided to an agency they describe as \u201ctotally infiltrated by Hamas and terrorist sympathizers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Board of Peace, a diplomatic body involved in regional stability efforts, stated on July 1 that UNRWA \u201chas no place in the new Gaza.\u201d Officials associated with the board expressed concern that an organization purportedly serving two million people cannot operate effectively while allegedly supporting terrorism. They emphasized the need for a \u201cresponsible and deliberate\u201d transition to ensure no gaps occur in the delivery of vaccinations, food, and health services.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nile1.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/donald-trump-jared-kushner-marco-rubio-board-of-peace.jpg\" alt=\"Donald Trump stands in front of Jared Kushner and Marco Rubio\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" title=\"\"> <\/p>\n<p>President Donald Trump attends the inaugural Board of Peace meeting at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C., Feb. 19, 2026. (Kevin Lamarque\/Reuters)<\/p>\n<p>In Congress, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch (R-Idaho) called for the U.S. to address \u201csystemic radicalization\u201d within UNRWA facilities. Similarly, Ambassador Jeff Bartos, the U.S. Representative for United Nations Management and Reform, urged U.N. member states to stop underwriting an organization he characterized as a \u201csubsidiary of Hamas.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Ongoing Aid Obstruction<\/h3>\n<p>The investigation unfolds against a backdrop of continued humanitarian challenges in Gaza. Dr. Ramiz Alakbarov, the U.N. Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, recently condemned the \u201cobstruction of humanitarian operations in Gaza by the de facto authorities.\u201d Alakbarov cited a recent incident where armed personnel forcibly entered a food distribution point in Jabalia and assaulted truck drivers at a World Food Programme warehouse.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nile1.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/IDF-UNRWA-terrorists-e1715781842141.jpg\" alt=\"Hamas UNRWA\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" title=\"\"> <\/p>\n<p>Photos released by the Israeli Defense Force show three individuals that the Israeli military claims are Hamas terrorists inside an UNRWA compound in Rafah. (IDF)<\/p>\n<p>These incidents, according to Alakbarov, reflect a \u201cdangerous pattern of intimidation\u201d and smuggling attempts that target aid operations. While the USAID OIG expects to make further referrals to the State Department and potential criminal referrals to the Department of Justice, the future of aid delivery in Gaza remains tied to the resolution of these security and integrity concerns.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nile1.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1784324642_751_usaid-2.png\" alt=\"A USAID flag flies outside headquarters in Washington, D.C.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" title=\"\"> <\/p>\n<p>An American flag and USAID flag fly outside the USAID building in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 1, 2025. (REUTERS\/Annabelle Gordon)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WASHINGTON \u2014 U.S. federal investigators have expanded a sweeping probe into the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), identifying more than 1,500 employees with alleged ties to foreign terrorist organizations in Gaza. The investigation, led by the USAID Office of the Inspector General (OIG), marks a significant escalation in congressional and executive scrutiny of &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3837,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[6118,6116,133,6114,6115,6117,6112,6113],"class_list":["post-3835","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world","tag-board-of-peace","tag-foreign-terrorist-organizations","tag-gaza","tag-hamas","tag-oct-7","tag-state-department","tag-unrwa","tag-usaid-office-of-the-inspector-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nile1.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3835","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nile1.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nile1.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nile1.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nile1.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3835"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/nile1.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3835\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3838,"href":"https:\/\/nile1.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3835\/revisions\/3838"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nile1.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nile1.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nile1.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3835"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nile1.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}