Tokyo: Israel has presented no concrete evidence to the United Nations to support its allegations that 12 UNRWA workers were involved in the massive Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7 last year, a UNRWA official said Friday.

In response to the claims of Israel, the United Nations dismissed the staff allegedly involved in the deadly attack by the Islamic militant group and started investigations. Two of the 12 staff are said to be dead.

The United Nations quickly took the steps before confirming the allegations because it was concerned that if it continued to employ the workers, opposition to the organization would spread, said Akihiro Seita, head of the health department of UNRWA, or the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

“The disappearance of UNRWA from Gaza will be a death sentence” to the people in the besieged Palestinian territory, Seita told a news conference in Tokyo, regarding the suspension of financial contributions to UNRWA from more than 10 countries, including Japan and the United States.

“We must not abandon the people of Gaza,” he said, calling for the resumption of funding.

Israel claims that an underground Hamas base was found under the UNRWA headquarters compound in Gaza. Seita, however, said that there was no entrance or exit leading to the alleged underground tunnel network from the UNRWA compound.

On Jan. 27, Japan announced that they were suspending additional UNRWA funding while the United Nations finishes the investigation regarding the allegations.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry released a statement saying Japan is “extremely concerned about the alleged involvement of UNRWA staff members in the terror attack on Israel” and has been “strongly urging UNRWA to conduct the investigation in a prompt and complete manner.”

The Japanese political party Reiwa Shinsengumi announced on Feb. 9 that they donated one million Japanese yen (nearly 7,000 US dollars) to UNRWA and protested the government’s decision to suspend the funds. 

JIJI Press