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To date, its investigations have led to the suspension or disbarment of 21 individuals who either participated in the October 7 attacks or had affiliations with Hamas.<\/p>\n
The USAID Office of Inspector General (USAID<\/a> OIG) identified evidence that four more current or former UNRWA<\/a> staff members participated in the October 7 massacre and or have Hamas affiliations, the statutorily independent law enforcement and oversight entity announced on Thursday.<\/p>\n Three of those identified were UNRWA-employed teachers, and the fourth was an UNRWA social worker, who were alleged to have held civilians hostage after they were abducted from southern Israel and or carried out terrorist activities in Israeli territory on October 7, 2023.<\/p>\n The staff has been referred to the US State Department, where a formal suspension or disbarment may prevent them from working in US-funded aid organizations in the future, USAID confirmed.<\/p>\n USAID OIG confirmed that its ongoing investigations have led to the suspension and or disbarment of 21 individuals who either participated in the October 7 attacks or had affiliations with Hamas. Notably, the investigations led to the 10-year government-wide debarment of Hafez Mousa Mohammed Mousa, a UNRWA school principal and operative of Hamas\u2019s East Jabaliya Battalion.<\/p>\n