'Hamas entered and took everything' - UNRWA employee testifies how Hamas forcefully uses UN agency facilities, vehicles

An employee of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) testified on Thursday that Hamas terrorists forcefully seize and use the UN agency’s vehicles. Israel Defense Forces released a video that highlighted concerns about Hamas exploiting UNRWA resources.

The staff member told Israeli security that after the ongoing war started over a year ago, Hamas operatives "entered the UNRWA facilities" and "took everything." He said this "happened before everyone's eyes; it's no secret."

The UNRWA employee revealed that Hamas seized its vehicles "because they contained supplies, materials meant for people, these materials were intended for people, so they went in and took them." 

"They took the vehicles and started taking the supplies out of them and distributing them using private supply lines," he recalled.

"Everything was done by force" and without "the worker's consent," the worker said, adding, "Hamas operatives "had the power to do whatever they wanted."

When asked why Hamas terrorists needed UNRWA vehicles, the UN agency employee replied that "it's a form of defense for them, so they can move around easily.”

"Their thought process was that when they get into a UNRWA vehicle and drive in it and get things with it, the supplies, of course, then they are protected," he continued, adding "because it's an agency vehicle."

The Israeli military does not typically target UNRWA or civilian vehicles unless there's intelligence about terrorists using them. Hamas' systematic abuse of civilian structures like hospitals and schools and UNRWA vehicles constitutes a flagrant violation of international law as it endangers the lives of civilians.

While much of the international community has blamed the Jewish state for the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, the UNRWA employee’s testimony supports the Israeli position that Hamas has ostensibly created the crisis for civilians by stealing supplies and using them as a tool to influence the wider population in Gaza.

It was reported in May that Hamas terrorists had stolen around 70% of all human aid trucks that passed through the now-defunct U.S.-built Gaza aid pier. At the time, a UN official estimated that 11 out of 16 aid trucks “were cleaned out by Palestinians” before they even reached the intended warehouse in Gaza. “They’ve not seen trucks for a while,” the official said.

Critics in Israel and elsewhere have blasted UNRWA for its close ties with Hamas and other terrorist organizations, with several countries temporarily suspending their funding to the organization back in January.

In addition, Israeli intelligence estimates that at least 10% of UNRWA workers are also members of Hamas and other terrorist organizations. In February, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant revealed the names of 12 UNRWA workers who had taken part in the Oct. 7 invasion and mass terror attack in southern Israel last year. Gallant said the IDF had the names of 30 additional UNRWA employees who indirectly assisted in the massacres and kidnappings on the day of the attack.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials have argued that it is increasingly difficult to differentiate between Hamas and UNRWA. As a result, Israel has suspended UNRWA's operations in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, despite the Biden administration and several other countries urging Israel to reconsider its decision out of concern for the humanitarian crisis in the coastal enclave.