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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A U.S. negotiated charismatic briefed by USAID OIG investigators confirmed to Fox News Digital that astatine slightest 1,500 existent aliases erstwhile UNRWA labor are nether investigation for ties to overseas terrorist organizations successful Gaza.

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

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

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

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

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

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

In nan property merchandise describing its effort, nan 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 coach pinch "expertise arsenic a sniper for Hamas," and 1 who tracked explosive instrumentality assignments. Another referred individual was a schoolhouse main assigned to a Hamas subject manufacturing unit. Under his school, location were "three anti-tank positions and a passageway shaft."

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

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

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

The USAID OIG stated that it expects to make further referrals to nan State Department successful summation to "potential criminal referrals to nan Department of Justice."

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

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

In consequence to Fox News Digital’s questions astir whether it will blacklist different identified UNRWA employees, a State Department spokesperson said that "it is nary astonishment that different 100 UNWRA labor were wished to beryllium progressive successful nan barbaric Oct. 7 attack. President Trump and Secretary Rubio person affirmed clip and clip again that nary State Department backing will 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 nan caller Gaza."

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

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

The charismatic explained that "we can’t really person an institution operating wrong of Gaza wherever they're purportedly delivering assistance and services to 2 cardinal group but besides allegedly participating successful and supporting terrorism. That is anathema to creating a safe and prosperous Gaza for Gazans." Moving guardant without UNRWA will require being "responsible and deliberate successful position of really we modulation those services complete to guarantee location are nary gaps successful captious assistance delivery, whether it's wellness services, vaccinations, food, aliases different goods."

Last month, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) posted astir nan infiltration of UNRWA connected X, saying, "It is clip for nan United States to return action to reside this increasing problem and nan systemic radicalization successful UNRWA facilities." Risch said he would activity pinch nan U.S. Ambassador to nan U.N. "to guidelines retired nan violent links astatine nan 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 break this cycle."

"This year, you person nan prime to extremity underwriting an statement that has go a subsidiary of Hamas, whose labor took portion successful 1 of nan astir barbaric violent attacks successful quality history connected Oct. 7, 2023," Bartos said. "This year, you person nan prime to springiness nan Palestinian group surviving successful Gaza nan opportunity to find durable solutions and prosper, alternatively of subjecting them to endless cycles of dependency and everlastingly refugeehood."

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

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

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

Fox News Digital reached retired to UNRWA for comment.