• in4aPenny@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    3
    ·
    8 months ago

    Where is the proof that there are thousands of UNRWA employees that helped Oct 7th happen? I tried looking it up and couldn’t find anything.

    • 【J】【u】【s】【t】【Z】@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      arrow-down
      4
      ·
      edit-2
      8 months ago

      That’s not what I said. There were 12 known to have helped at the time funding was pulled. A few others have been discovered since. An Israeli hostages was rescued out of the attic of an UNRWA teacher, for example.

      I said hundreds to thousands are members and close supporters. I’m seeing articles saying 30 helped and 450 employees are members. I cannot find right now in the sea of articles the details I am referring to, but they were in a 13 page report from Israel to the US Congress a week or so after funding was pulled. The report is classified but some folks talked about it. I think it was a gang of eight member who gave the details on how many UNRWA employees have a family member in Hamas. I want to say it was 4,000 to 6,000. I’ll poke around for the article. It may even have been a press briefing by a legislator. State Department I think had some details in a press conference as well, around the same time. I’ll find it when I get some time.

      • Keeponstalin@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        8 months ago

        Zero were ‘known to have helped’

        In January, Israel set out allegations that were seismic for the United Nations’ relief work in Gaza: staff working for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (Unrwa), it alleged, had taken part in the 7 October attacks by Hamas. Almost two months later, with funding for the agency paused by international donors including the UK and US, UN investigators are yet to receive evidence of Israel’s claims – and relations between the two sides are at an all-time low.

        The evidence cited in Israel’s dossier included text messages, intercepted calls, and mobile phone data said to establish the 12 staffers’ movements during the attacks. In early February, Unrwa fired nine staffers accused of being involved in the attacks, saying that it had done so in advance of any investigation because “the ability of the entire agency to continue to operate and deliver critical humanitarian assistance was at stake”.

        But as the weeks have passed, the reliability of Israel’s allegations has been called into question. “Unrwa say they’ve barely received any evidence, and that they have seen some confessions that appear to have been obtained under duress in Israeli detention,” Jason said.

        Israel has refused to cooperate with the UN and has provided none of its evidence despite a fact-finding mission by investigators, the Daily Telegraph reported. And a US intelligence assessment reportedly found with “low confidence” that a handful of staff had participated in the attack but cast doubt on claims of wider collaboration between Hamas and Unrwa.

        In the meantime, the situation for Palestinians relying on Unrwa’s aid remains dire, with the World Food Programme and the World Health Organization warning this week that northern Gaza is now on the brink of famine, and only about a third of the 500 trucks of aid needed a day crossing into the territory. There have been 168 Unrwa employees killed since the conflict began, and Lazzarini said on Monday that he had been denied access to Gaza by the Israeli authorities, a claim Israel denies. Last week, a food distribution centre in Rafah run by Unrwa was hit by an Israeli airstrike.

        https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/20/first-edition-israel-unrwa

        • 【J】【u】【s】【t】【Z】@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          arrow-down
          4
          ·
          8 months ago

          I know it’s crazy you can find anything on the internet. Including some obviously false quotes in the Guardian article. Israel provided a confidential report to the ICJ on February 21, I think was the date.

          Anyway you’re going with the theory that Israeli intelligence officers and diplomats came to America and lied to President’s face, along with Sec State and Sec Def, and not only that, but all of them fell for the lie. Give me a break. You were born yesterday I guess, not me though.