A previously unpublished USAID inspector general review concluded that the United Nations’ investigation of UNRWA employees accused of involvement in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack was too narrowly focused and excluded Israeli intelligence that the U.S. watchdog found no reason to doubt.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
A U.S. government watchdog identified “major deficiencies” in the United Nations’ internal investigation of employees accused of participating in the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, finding that investigators limited the scope of their inquiry and rejected intelligence that could have shed additional light on alleged ties between UNRWA personnel and Hamas, according to a report by the Washington Free Beacon.
The findings came from a previously unpublished December 2025 review by the independent USAID Office of Inspector General examining how the U.N. Office of Internal Oversight Services handled allegations against employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees.
According to the Free Beacon, the U.S. watchdog found that OIOS confined its inquiry largely to determining whether individual UNRWA employees directly participated in the Oct. 7 attack rather than also investigating whether they were members of Hamas.
The review also questioned OIOS’ decision to reject intercepted Hamas communications supplied by Israeli intelligence because U.N. investigators said they were unable to independently authenticate the material.
USAID OIG concluded there was “no evidence to suggest that the authenticity of the materials collected by the Israeli government should be questioned,” according to the report.
An unnamed Western diplomat who was briefed on the findings sharply criticized the U.N. investigation.
“What’s well known here in New York is that the U.N. OIOS’ investigation was a complete cover-up,” the diplomat told the Free Beacon, alleging investigators “ignored the obvious, glaring linkages between UNRWA staff and Hamas.”
The United Nations has defended its investigation.
OIOS examined allegations involving 19 UNRWA employees in 2024. Investigators concluded that allegations against one employee were unsupported and that evidence concerning nine others was insufficient. In nine additional cases, investigators found evidence indicating the employees “may have been involved” in the Oct. 7 attack.
Those nine employees were subsequently terminated.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said after the inquiry concluded that OIOS had examined the “serious allegations” and reiterated that the agency remained committed to U.N. principles of neutrality.
The USAID inspector general’s work did not end with its review of the U.N. investigation.
On Aug. 26, USAID OIG announced that its continuing investigation had resulted in more than 100 current or former UNRWA employees being referred to the State Department for alleged participation in the Oct. 7 attack and/or affiliation with Hamas.
Three individuals recently were proposed for government-wide debarment. Two were former UNRWA employees allegedly linked to Hamas, while another was allegedly affiliated with Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
The wider investigation had already produced a 10-year federal debarment for former UNRWA school principal Hafez Mousa Mohammed Mousa. Investigators identified Mousa as a Hamas operative who coordinated communications with other suspected Hamas members during the Oct. 7 attack.
The U.S. watchdog’s findings have now prompted demands for additional records from Congress.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is seeking unredacted U.N. records related to the OIOS investigation and the deficiencies identified in its work, according to the Free Beacon.
A U.N. spokesman confirmed receiving Grassley’s letter and said it “will be answered.”
The dispute centers not only on what the U.N. investigation concluded about the original 19 employees, but also on what investigators chose to examine and what evidence they considered usable.
While OIOS focused on whether the accused employees participated directly in the Oct. 7 attack, the USAID inspector general concluded that the inquiry should also have examined potential Hamas membership and questioned the exclusion of intercepted communications provided by Israel.
The subsequent U.S. investigation has since expanded well beyond the original group examined by OIOS, with more than 100 current and former UNRWA employees referred to the State Department over alleged Hamas affiliations or involvement in the Oct. 7 attack.
The U.N. continues to stand behind its 2024 investigation, while the USAID watchdog’s findings and Grassley’s demand for unredacted records have renewed scrutiny over how thoroughly the allegations involving UNRWA personnel were originally examined.
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