May 12, 2025
Geneva, 12 May 2025
Today, as the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) conducts yet another briefing, the State of Israel is compelled to renew its urgent call for immediate action to address the agency's deep and entrenched ties to Hamas. The overwhelming evidence now confirms the full extent of this failure. UNRWA has fundamentally betrayed its core humanitarian mandate and has become a dangerous enabler of terrorism—operating in direct contradiction to the principles of neutrality and impartiality it was created to uphold.
It is not simply an organization with a few bad actors—it is an institution that has been systematically infiltrated by Hamas operatives at every level. Evidence provided by Israel shows that at least 25% of UNRWA’s personnel are confirmed members of terrorist organizations, from which many directly participated in the October 7, 2023 massacre. Despite repeated and well-documented warnings from Israel, the UN has not only ignored these dangers but has actively covered up the terrorist affiliations of UNRWA staff and has allowed a humanitarian agency to become a breeding ground for terrorism.
Israel has provided concrete proof to the UN about Hamas’s infiltration of UNRWA well before October 7, 2023. Already in December 2011, Israel sent a letter to UNRWA about the employment of terrorists within its ranks, including Naji Abdalla Abu Aziz, the principal of the Khuzza Prep Boys School, an UNRWA-run institution. While holding this position, Abu Aziz was simultaneously an operative in Hamas’s Al-Qasam chemical manufacturing unit. He used his authority to militarize the school facilities, including installing anti-tank weaponry near classroom windows. Despite clear and longstanding evidence, Abu Aziz remains employed by UNRWA as of April 2025. This is not an isolated case—it reflects a widespread, systemic failure within the organization.
A recent report by the Henry Jackson Society further underscores the troubling extent of UNRWA’s infiltration by Hamas and the misuse of its facilities, stressing that the use of schools and other civilian infrastructure by Hamas and other militant groups has been well documented. The UN has long been aware of serious issues within UNRWA, but despite years of evidence has failed to investigate and take action.
UNRWA’s continued existence as an organization aligned with Hamas is not only a failure of accountability—it is an outright betrayal of the very people it claims to serve. The UN must take immediate responsibility for harboring and enabling terrorist operatives under its banner. UNRWA’s role in perpetuating terrorism is clear, undeniable, and constitutes a serious international security threat.
ENDS
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