00:00Concluding months of investigation by its internal watchdog, the UN says a total of
00:06nine staff members of its Palestinian relief agency UNRWA are being sacked as they may
00:11have participated in the October 7 attacks.
00:15We found out of those 19 that in 10 cases there's either no information or insufficient
00:23information to support the allegations of their involvement in the October 7 attacks.
00:30The nine for whom there is sufficient information will be terminated and that of course includes
00:39some who had been terminated earlier.
00:42The UN didn't detail the employees' likely roles in the attack or the evidence that prompted
00:47the decision, but said that evidence provided by Israel during discussions with authorities
00:52could not be independently corroborated as the agency didn't have direct access to it.
00:58The probe was launched after Israel accused 19 UNRWA staffers of involvement in the attacks
01:04in January. Israel stepped up criticism in March, saying over 450 staff were military
01:10operatives in Gaza.
01:13After Monday's announcement, the spokesperson for Israel's foreign affairs ministry said
01:17the findings were just the tip of the iceberg. In a tweet, he wrote,
01:21UNRWA is part of the problem and not part of the solution and anyone who seeks the best
01:25interests of Israel, the Gaza Strip and the region should act to replace UNRWA's activities
01:31with other agencies.
01:33In the wake of Israel's allegations, top donor countries suspended their funding to UNRWA,
01:38causing a cash crunch of about $450 million. Since then, many have decided to resume funding
01:44except for its largest donor, the US. UNRWA has provided essential relief for Palestinian
01:50refugees since 1949 and has been the main agency distributing aid in Gaza during the
01:56current war.
