Israel's military and foreign ministry have shared documents with the American newspaper The New York Times, which are said to be internal documents from the Islamist movement Hamas.
At least 24 identified individuals who have been employed by the UN agency Unrwa's school activities in Gaza are said to be members of Hamas or the militia group Islamic Jihad. The 24 individuals have worked at 24 different schools, among the total 288 schools that Unrwa has operated in Gaza at 200 different facilities.
One of them, a vice principal at a primary school in Gaza, is also listed as an infantryman in Hamas' armed branch, the al-Qassam brigades. He, like several of the 24 identified, is said to have been assigned weapons.
Principal had leadership role
The New York Times cannot verify the authenticity of the documents, but notes that some of the information matches other sources. The information is also said to be supported by interviews with various insiders. TT has not seen the documents.
The image of widespread Hamas presence is also reinforced by the fact that Hamas' top leader in Lebanon, who was killed in September, was also a principal and led Unrwa's teachers' union in the country, the newspaper writes.
Israel has for a long time accused the UN's aid organization for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) of being infiltrated by the Islamist movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
According to the accusations, as many as one-tenth of Unrwa's approximately 13,000 employees there have "terror links".
The UN investigated allegations that Unrwa employees were involved in Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7 last year, resulting in nine being dismissed.
Large apparatus
From the UN's perspective, it has been argued that it is difficult for Unrwa to guarantee that there are no Hamas links among the employees, as it is one of the largest employers in the Gaza Strip and Hamas has long had strict control over large parts of society and its population.
Many of Unrwa's facilities have been attacked during the war and many employees have been killed. Israel justifies the attacks by saying that armed opponents are located there.
Unrwa, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, was founded after the war that broke out in connection with Israel's establishment in 1948, with the aim of helping the over 750,000 Palestinians who were forced to flee.
Unrwa helps around 5.9 million Palestinian refugees. Nearly 90 percent of the donations come from UN member countries. The largest support has been given by, among others, the USA, Germany, the EU, Sweden, and Norway.
Over half of Unrwa's budget goes to education. Around 15 percent goes to health-promoting measures, according to figures from 2020.
The UN agency has around 30,000 employees, of whom 13,000 are in Gaza. A majority are locally employed Palestinians.
