Trump administration probes UNRWA over alleged employment of 1,500 terrorists

A arguable United Nations bureau is being investigated by U.S. officials for alleged ties to terrorism. The U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the U.N. enactment for Palestinian refugees, has much than 1,500 employees being probed for links to terrorism.

U.S. officials person progressively called connected U.N. subordinate states to defund UNRWA aft decades of concerns astir its schoolhouse materials promoting terror, the beingness of Hamas tunnels beneath UNRWA schools and charges that unit members participated successful the Hamas violent attacks of Oct. 7 against Israel.

US URGES DONORS TO ABANDON UNRWA FUNDING AS UN DEFENDS AGENCY'S MISSION

This representation taken during a media circuit organized by the Israeli service connected February 8, 2024, shows Israeli soldiers wrong an evacuated compound of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) successful Gaza City. (Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images)

While the U.N. conducted its ain UNRWA probe successful 2024 done the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) pursuing claims that 19 UNRWA employees were portion of the Oct. 7. attacks, OIOS recovered insufficient grounds to enactment the information of 10 employees. For the remaining nine, UNRWA terminated their contracts.

As the USAID Office of the Inspector General, a instrumentality enforcement bureau abstracted from USAID, continues to analyse 1,500 UNRWA employees, it precocious announced that it had referred a full of 108 existent oregon erstwhile UNRWA unit to the State Department for suspension oregon exclusion from moving with organizations that person U.S. funds. Those members were recovered to beryllium progressive successful the Hamas penetration of confederate Israel, oregon were members of violent groups.

A U.S. diplomatic authoritative briefed by USAID OIG investigators confirmed to Fox News Digital that astatine slightest 1,500 existent oregon erstwhile UNRWA employees are nether probe for ties to overseas violent organizations successful Gaza.

Aid trucks of The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees successful the Near East (UNRWA) present assistance adjacent Gaza City connected June 19. (Dawoud Abo Alkas/Anadolu via Getty Images)

A elder U.S. authoritative who spoke with Fox News Digital said that the USAID OIG probe "smartly picked up wherever the U.N. failed" by looking beyond Oct. 7 participation. The authoritative said the USAID OIG probe is "critical, arsenic U.S. taxpayers should ne'er money the salaries of assistance workers that are members of a overseas violent organization." 

The elder authoritative told Fox News Digital, "USAID OIG’s probe is helping forestall terrorists from criss-crossing crossed assistance organizations that person received oregon are seeking U.S. oregon Board of Peace funding."

Hamas was designated arsenic a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) successful 1997 by the State Department, and arsenic a Specially Designated Global Terrorist radical (SDGT) successful 2001.

HAMAS SAYS IT WILL DISSOLVE GAZA GOVERNMENT, BUT ISRAEL WARNS GROUP STILL SEEKS HEZBOLLAH-STYLE CONTROL

Hamas terrorists successful the bluish of Gaza Strip connected Dec. 1, 2025. (Omar Al-Qatta / AFP via Getty Images)

In the property merchandise describing its effort, the USAID OIG said that individuals referred for debarment included "UNRWA schoolhouse principals, teachers, information personnel, attendants, psychosocial counselors and aesculapian professionals."

They included 2 lawman schoolhouse principals, 1 of whom served arsenic a Hamas lawman institution commandant and different of whom was a squad leader. USAID OIG additionally referred a teacher with "expertise arsenic a sniper for Hamas," and 1 who tracked explosive instrumentality assignments. Another referred idiosyncratic was a schoolhouse main assigned to a Hamas subject manufacturing unit. Under his school, determination were "three anti-tank positions and a passageway shaft."

In the lawsuit of Oct. 7 involvement, the USAID OIG specifically mentioned a teacher ordered "to bring 2 anti-tank missiles to a prescribed determination during the Oct. 7 panic attacks," and a lawman schoolhouse main charged with communications.

TRUMP-BACKED BOARD OF PEACE, ISRAEL 'WILL TAKE ACTION' IF HAMAS REMAINS OUT OF COMPLIANCE: NETANYAHU ADVISOR

President Donald Trump attends the inaugural Board of Peace gathering astatine the U.S. Institute of Peace successful Washington, D.C., Feb. 19, 2026. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

The USAID OIG stated that it expects to marque further referrals to the State Department successful summation to "potential transgression referrals to the Department of Justice."

As a effect of its investigations, the State Department has banned Hafez Mousa Mohammed Mousa from immoderate aboriginal enactment with U.S. authorities entities. An UNRWA schoolhouse principal, Mousa was moving with the Hamas East Jabaliya Battalion and "coordinated communications with different suspected Hamas members during the Oct. 7 attacks," the USAID OIG study explains.

Photos released by the Israeli Defense Force amusement 3 individuals that the Israeli subject claims are Hamas terrorists wrong an UNRWA compound successful Rafah. (IDF)

In effect to Fox News Digital’s questions astir whether it volition blacklist different identified UNRWA employees, a State Department spokesperson said that "it is nary astonishment that different 100 UNWRA employees were determined to beryllium progressive successful the barbaric Oct. 7 attack. President Trump and Secretary Rubio person affirmed clip and clip again that nary State Department backing volition beryllium provided to UNWRA, which has been wholly infiltrated by Hamas and violent sympathizers."

On July 1, the Board of Peace posted connected X that UNRWA "has nary spot successful the caller Gaza."

An authoritative briefed connected developments with the Board of Peace told Fox News Digital that the USAID OIG’s investigations are "quite concerning to us."

An American emblem and USAID emblem alert extracurricular the USAID gathering successful Washington, D.C., U.S., February 1, 2025. (REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon)

The authoritative explained that "we can’t truly person an instauration operating wrong of Gaza wherever they're purportedly delivering assistance and services to 2 cardinal radical but besides allegedly participating successful and supporting terrorism. That is anathema to creating a harmless and prosperous Gaza for Gazans." Moving guardant without UNRWA volition necessitate being "responsible and deliberate successful presumption of however we modulation those services implicit to guarantee determination are nary gaps successful captious assistance delivery, whether it's wellness services, vaccinations, food, oregon different goods."

Last month, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) posted astir the infiltration of UNRWA connected X, saying, "It is clip for the United States to instrumentality enactment to code this increasing occupation and the systemic radicalization successful UNRWA facilities." Risch said helium would enactment with the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. "to basal retired the violent links astatine the U.N."

The U.S. Representative for United Nations Management and Reform, Ambassador Jeff Bartos, told a U.N. gathering successful June connected UNRWA funding, that it was clip "to interruption this cycle."

"This year, you person the prime to halt underwriting an enactment that has go a subsidiary of Hamas, whose employees took portion successful 1 of the astir barbaric violent attacks successful quality past connected Oct. 7, 2023," Bartos said. "This year, you person the prime to springiness the Palestinian radical surviving successful Gaza the accidental to find durable solutions and prosper, alternatively of subjecting them to endless cycles of dependency and everlastingly refugeehood."

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Hamas' theft of assistance is continuing to origin harm in Gaza. While not calling retired Hamas by name, connected Sunday, the U.N. Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory Dr. Ramiz Alakbarov released a connection powerfully condemning the "obstruction of humanitarian operations successful Gaza by the de facto authorities." He noted that the erstwhile day, "armed unit affiliated with the de facto authorities forcibly entered the Abu Rashid nutrient organisation constituent successful Jabalia," and additionally "entered a [World Food Programme] warehouse and reportedly assaulted 2 motortruck drivers who were delivering humanitarian supplies."

Alakbarov said the incidents "are not isolated" and "reflect an progressively unsafe signifier of intimidation, unit and obstruction, including smuggling attempts, targeting and abusing humanitarian operations."

Fox News Digital reached retired to UNRWA for comment.