NEW YORK: Israelis who were taken hostage or lost loved ones during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack are suing the United Nations agency that aids Palestinians, claiming it has helped finance the militants by paying agency staffers in US dollars and thereby funneling them to money-changers in Gaza who allegedly give a cut to Hamas.
But the agency, known as UNWRA, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the staffers were paid in dollars by their own choice. Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank don’t have their own national currency, and primarily use Israeli shekels.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in a US federal court in New York, marks the latest challenge to the beleaguered UN agency, which has been the main supplier of food, water and shelter to civilians during the Israel-Hamas war. The Israeli government has long assailed the over 70-year-old agency, and scrutiny has intensified during the eight-month-long war, prompting UNRWA to defend itself while grappling with a spiraling humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
“UNRWA’s staff, facilities and ability to truck cash US dollars into Gaza formed a potent pillar of Hamas’ plan to undertake the Oct. 7 attack,” the lawsuit says, asserting that the UN agency “systematically and deliberately aided and abetted Hamas and its goals.”
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said Tuesday that he learned of the case only through the media.
“I don’t know what the status of this lawsuit is all about, but for the time being, I see this as an additional way to put pressure on the agency,” he said at a press briefing in Geneva.
UNRWA has denied that it knowingly aids Hamas or any other militant group.
Israel invaded Gaza after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, in which militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted about 250. The war has killed more than 37,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which doesn’t say how many were civilians or fighters.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of scores of Israelis including Oct. 7 attack survivors, victims’ relatives, and rescued captives. It echoes some complaints their government has raised, ranging from claims that UNRWA employs Hamas operatives to complaints about the content of textbooks in UNRWA-run schools.
But the suit also focuses on the agency’s practice of paying its 13,000 Gaza staffers in US dollars. The money is wired from a bank in New York and trucked into Gaza, according to the legal complaint, which says the payroll totaled at least $20 million a month from 2018 until last September.
UNRWA employees use local money-changers to convert their dollars to Israeli shekels, the complaint says.
Some Palestinians also use dollars or Jordanian dinars, viewing them as stable and trusted currencies.
The suit claims that Hamas, which has controlled Gaza since 2007, “runs the majority” of the currency exchangers and extracts a 10 percent to 25 percent fee from the rest, “ensuring that a predictable percentage of UNRWA’s payroll went to Hamas” in dollars useful for black-market weapons deals.
“Hamas’ ability to carry out the Oct. 7 attack would have been significantly and possibly fatally weakened without that UNRWA-provided cash,” the complaint says.
The complaint points to an UNRWA-commissioned 2018 report about delivering aid in cash that noted risks of misappropriation, fraud or other diversion away from the intended purpose.
UNRWA spokesperson Juliette Touma said in a message to the AP that Gaza staffers asked that “they are paid in $ because Gaza does not have an official national currency.”
Touma said the UN, including UNRWA, and their officials are immune from lawsuits. She declined to comment further on the suit in question, saying the agency hadn’t officially been served with it.
One of the plaintiffs’ lead lawyers, Gavi Mairone, said in a statement Tuesday that they didn’t believe the UN and officials named in the suit had immunity, “and certainly not from these claims.”
Formally called the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East, UNRWA was established to help the estimated 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were driven out of what is now Israel during the 1948 war surrounding the country’s creation. Their descendants now number nearly 6 million.
The agency operates schools, health clinics, infrastructure projects and aid programs in refugee camps in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan.
Since the war began in Gaza, over 1.7 million people have taken shelter in UNRWA facilities. At least 500 displaced people have been killed when such facilities came under attack, according to UNWRA statistics released Friday. The agency has lost nearly 200 staffers.
Two UN officials said Tuesday that the world body warned Israel that Gaza aid operations would be suspended unless protections for humanitarian workers improve.
Israel has accused UNRWA of letting Hamas exploit its aid and facilities, and Israel claimed this winter that a dozen UNRWA employees participated in the Oct. 7 attacks.
The allegations prompted the US and more than a dozen other countries to suspend hundreds of millions of dollars in contributions to the agency, though all but the US and Britain have resumed their funding. Lazzarini said Tuesday that new donors also have come on board, but the agency still faces a year-end shortfall of up to $140 million.
Israelis’ lawsuit says UN agency helps Hamas by paying Gaza staff in dollars
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Israelis’ lawsuit says UN agency helps Hamas by paying Gaza staff in dollars
- The Israeli government has long assailed the over 70-year-old agency, and scrutiny has intensified during the eight-month-long war, prompting UNRWA to defend itself while grappling with a spiraling humanitarian crisis in Gaza
Jordan condemns Israeli strike on Gaza’s European Hospital
- Attack left medical facility inoperable, killed at least 28 people
AMMAN: Jordan strongly condemned on Friday Israel’s targeting of the European Hospital in Khan Younis this week, which left the medical facility inoperable and killed at least 28 people, the Jordan News Agency has reported.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates described the strike as a “blatant violation” of international humanitarian law, international legal norms, and the 1949 Geneva Convention on the Protection of Civilians in Time of War.
Sufian Al-Qudah, the spokesperson for the ministry, reiterated Jordan’s firm opposition to Israel’s ongoing military operations in Gaza.
He condemned what he described as the systematic targeting of civilians and vital infrastructure, and accused Israel of using blockade and starvation tactics to forcibly displace Palestinians.
Al-Qudah also warned of the grave implications Israel’s actions could have on regional security and stability.
He urged the international community to uphold its moral and legal responsibilities by putting pressure on Israel to end its military campaign in Gaza, allow the delivery of humanitarian aid through open crossings, and recognize Palestinians’ right to establish an independent state based on pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The strike drew international condemnation after British doctor Tom Potokar released footage from inside the hospital showing the aftermath of the attack.
The consultant plastic surgeon, who is working in Gaza, told the BBC that six bombs hit the hospital, which resulted in a scene of “absolute mayhem.”
Israel threatens Houthi leaders after striking Yemen ports
- Israeli strikes hit Hodeida, a key entry point for aid, and Salif further north
- Netanyahu warns there is “more to come” despite US agreement
HODEIDA Yemen: Israel threatened to target the leadership of Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis after the air force struck two Yemeni ports on Friday, following repeated Houthi missile attacks in recent days.
The Houthis agreed earlier this month to stop firing on international shipping in the Red Sea after the United States stepped up air strikes on Houthi-held areas with British support.
But the Houthis vowed to keep up their strikes on Israel despite the deal and fired three missiles in as many days this week that triggered air raid warnings in major cities.
The Houthis’ Al-Masirah television reported strikes on the Red Sea port city of Hodeida, a key entry point for aid, as well as the port of Salif further north, without immediately mentioning any casualties.
Israel’s military confirmed striking the two ports, saying it “dismantled terrorist infrastructure sites” belonging to the Iran-backed Houthis.
It noted that prior warnings had been issued to civilians in both areas.
“These ports are used to transfer weapons and are a further example of the Houthi terrorist regime’s systematic and cynical exploitation of civilian infrastructure in order to advance terrorist activities,” a military statement said.
The Houthis, who have controlled large swathes of Yemen for more than a decade, began firing at Israel-linked shipping in November 2023, weeks after the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
They later broadened their campaign to target Israel, saying it was in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned the Houthi leadership there was “more to come” after Friday’s strikes.
“We are not willing to sit on the sidelines and let the Houthis attack us. We will hit them far more, including their leadership and all the infrastructure that allows them to hit us,” Netanyahu said in a video statement.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Houthi leaders that if the missile attacks continue, they face the same fate as Hamas leaders slain by Israel in Gaza.
“If the Houthis continue to fire, we will also hit the heads of the terror groups, just as we did to (slain Hamas military chief Mohammed) Deif and (the) Sinwars (Hamas Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar and his brother Mohammed Sinwar) in Gaza,” Katz said in a post.
“We will also hunt down and eliminate the Houthi leader, Abd Al-Malek Al-Houthi.”
In early May, a Houthi missile struck an area at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport, gouging a hole near its main terminal building and wounding several people in a rare penetration of Israeli air defenses.
Israel retaliated by striking the airport in Yemen’s Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa and three nearby power stations.
The UN special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, said the exchange marked a “dangerous escalation” and was a reminder that the war-torn country is “ensnared in the wider regional tensions.”
British lawmakers praise Jordan’s role in regional peace efforts
- Politicians stress value of Jordanian-British relations, necessity of strategic partnership
- “Jordan plays an important role in consolidating stability in the Middle East,” said MP Hamilton
DUBAI: British lawmakers have applauded Jordan’s role in maintaining regional stability and providing aid to the Gaza Strip.
The comments came in an interview with the Jordan News Agency’s correspondent in London.
The visit was at the invitation of the British Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, and was headed by MP Zuhair Khashman of the Jordanian delegation.
British politicians stressed the value of Jordanian-British relations and the necessity of their strategic partnership.
“Jordan plays an important role in consolidating stability in the Middle East,” said MP Fabian Hamilton, chairman of the BGIPU.
Hamilton added that there were three key reasons for its role in helping to stabilize the Middle East: its vital geographical location, its political stability, and the leadership of King Abdullah II.
Baroness Gloria Hooper, a member of the House of Lords, said a two-state solution in the region was essential to securing lasting peace. She also made note of the UK’s public opinion on the war in Gaza.
She added: “Despite growing pressure in Parliament on the British government to take more measures to stop the Israeli war on Gaza, we need to increase and redouble these efforts.”
MP Alistair Carmichael, chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Jordan Group, said: “The situation in Gaza is continuously deteriorating, making support for Jordanian humanitarian efforts a top priority.”
MP Bambos Charalambous said that “the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza cannot be dealt with by individual efforts or through a single country alone, but through broad international partnerships.”
Gaza, Sudan most at risk as global starvation approaches 300m: Report
- Populations of both face ‘starvation, death, destitution and high rates of acute malnutrition’
- War, aid cuts, climate among issues causing food shortages in Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia
LONDON: Almost 300 million people face death from starvation, with the most at risk in war-torn Gaza and Sudan, the latest Global Report on Food Crises has warned.
The report said 295.3 million people have been identified as facing “high levels of acute food insecurity” after a sixth consecutive year of the global number growing, with people in South Sudan, Yemen, Somalia, Afghanistan and Pakistan also noted as being at particular risk.
Cuts to humanitarian aid budgets and escalating conflicts were highlighted as having pushed as many as 13.7 million people into chronic food insecurity over the past 12 months.
The report noted that the number of people most at risk of food shortages as defined by the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification had more than doubled in that period, and that 95 percent of those were in Gaza and Sudan.
It added that the populations of both face “starvation, death, destitution and high rates of acute malnutrition.”
More than half of Gaza’s approximately 2.1 million people face “catastrophe,” while Sudan has as many as 24 million people suffering food insecurity. Famine has been officially declared in the African country.
“Intensifying conflict, increasing geopolitical tensions, global economic uncertainty and profound funding cuts are deepening acute food insecurity,” the GRFC said.
“Following the closure of all crossings into the Gaza Strip in early March, and the collapse of the two-month ceasefire, food access has been severely restricted.”
The GRFC said 19 other countries are suffering from worsening food security “aggravated” by drought, highlighting Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Ethiopia and Kenya.
War is also increasing several other countries’ food security, especially Nigeria and Myanmar.
UN peacekeepers attacked by civilians in Lebanon, no casualties reported
- The troops used non-lethal force to protect themselves and those present, according to UNIFIL
- The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) were notified and arrived shortly after the incident
DUBAI: A large group of civilians wielding metal rods and axes attacked a patrol of UN troops in southern Lebanon on Friday, causing damage to UN vehicles but no injuries, a United Nations peacekeeping force said.
The UN troops used non-lethal force to protect themselves and those present, according to the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), adding the patrol had been on a routine operation between the villages of Jmayjmeh and Khirbat Silim.
The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) were notified and arrived shortly after the incident, escorting the patrol back to base.
UNIFIL said the patrol had been pre-planned and coordinated with the LAF.
The UN peacekeeping mission stressed that its mandate, under UN Security Council Resolution 1701, guarantees freedom of movement in its area of operations with or without LAF accompaniment.
On Wednesday, UNIFIL said that direct fire from the Israeli army had hit the perimeter of one of its peacekeeping positions in south Lebanon. UNIFIL said the incident on Tuesday was the first of its kind since Israel and Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire last November.
