When a senior U.S. diplomat called the Israeli military late last month to request further details about Israeli allegations against a United Nations agency in the Gaza Strip, military leaders were so surprised that they ordered an internal inquiry about how the information had reached the ears of foreign officials.
The allegations were grave: Twelve employees of the organization, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, or UNRWA, were accused of joining Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel or its aftermath.
The claims reinforced Israel’s decades-old narrative about UNRWA — that it is biased against Israel and influenced by Hamas and other armed groups, charges that the agency strongly rejects.