The agency’s Office of the Inspector General said the individuals, including three teachers, were referred to the U.S. State Department for possible debarment from U.S.-funded aid programs.
The U.S. Agency for International Development’s Office of Inspector General said Thursday that it has identified evidence linking four current or former employees of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees to the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
The individuals—three teachers and a social worker—are suspected of participating in terrorist activities during the Oct. 7 attacks or in the detention of civilian hostages kidnapped from Israel and taken into Gaza.
“These subjects were referred to the U.S. Department of State for consideration of suspension and/or debarment action to exclude them from working across future U.S.-funded aid organizations,” the agency stated. (JNS sought comment from the U.N. secretary-general and UNRWA.)
The announcement follows a separate action in February, when the office imposed a 10-year, government-wide debarment on Hafez Mousa Mohammed Mousa, a former UNRWA school principal in Gaza. Investigators found that Mousa, identified as a Hamas operative, coordinated communications with other suspected members on Oct. 7.