Nine staff members at the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA may have been involved in the 07 October Hamas-led attack on Israel, the United Nations says. All nine would have their employment terminated, said UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq
He said the UN had completed an investigation following allegations by Israel that UNRWA staff were involved. Mr Haq did not specify what the men's precise involvement may have been
"For us, any participation in the attacks is a tremendous betrayal of the sort of work that we are supposed to be doing on behalf of the Palestinian people," he said
An Israeli Defense Forces spokeperson said the report showed UNRWA had hit a "new low"
The UN investigated 19 members of UNRWA staff in all, after Israel alleged that 12 took part in the attack. Israel later claimed that more than 450 UNRWA staff were members of terrorist groups but a UN review published in April found Israel had not provided evidence for its claims
Aside from the nine employees who the UN said may have had links to the 7 October attack, its report found no evidence of involvement in one case and insufficient evidence in the case of nine others
UNRWA which employs 13,000 people in Gaza, said in March that some of its employees reported being pressured by Israeli authorities into making false statements while in detention
Most countries withdrew funding for the UN agency because of the Israeli allegations
In July, the UK joined other countries that had resumed funding since then, leaving the US, UNRWA's single biggest donor, as the only country not to have restarted donations
UNRWA has provided aid for Palestinian refugees since 1949
