UN Agency Accuses Hamas of Stealing Humanitarian Supplies, Then Deletes Statement

The UN agency responsible for Palestinian refugees on Monday said that it had received reports that Hamas had seized humanitarian supplies from a UN compound in Gaza City before backtracking and deleting all references to the accusation.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in a statement said that fuel and medical supplies were seized from the compound, which they had evacuated on 13 Oct.

“UNRWA received reports this morning that yesterday a group of people with trucks, purporting to be from the Ministry of Health of the de facto authorities (DFA) in Gaza, removed fuel and medical equipment from the Agency’s compound in Gaza City,” UNRWA said. “UNRWA’s fuel and other types of material are kept for strictly humanitarian purposes, and any use of such assets for any other purposes is strongly condemned.”

“De facto authorities” is a term frequently used by the UN to refer to the Hamas terrorist group that controls the Gaza strip. The Gaza-based Palestinian Ministry of Health is likewise controlled by Hamas.

After posting the statement on their website and on social media on Monday, UNRWA then deleted the statement without explanation.

UNRWA’s deleted statement charging Hamas with seizing aid from its Gaza City compound.

UNRWA did not immediately respond to The Algemeiner’s request for comment about why they withdrew the statement.

A social media account run by Israel’s Foreign Ministry on Monday called out the deletion as an example of UNRWA’s overly-close relationship with the terrorist group responsible for the 7 Oct. massacre of more than 1,400 people in Israel.

“Wait UNRWA – Did Hamas also break into your Twitter account?  Or are you just scared of disappointing your terrorist friends?” the @Israel account posted on X/Twitter.

Past UNRWA statements about Hamas’ violations of the agency’s facilities have shown indications that the agency is unwilling to risk Hamas’ ire. In November, UNRWA issued a statement saying it found a “man-made cavity” under one of its schools in Gaza, which it had “protested strongly to the relevant authorities in Gaza” without saying who exactly those authorities might be or what they might have intended to do with their terror tunnel. In 2021 UNRWA’s Gaza director, Matthias Schmale, was replaced after he conceded that Israel’s airstrikes were “very precise” and they did not hit civilian targets, albeit with “some exceptions.” In a meeting with Hamas’ Yahya Sinwar, Schmale’s replacement called those comments “indefensible” and “affirmed her solidarity with the Palestinians.” Israel has named Sinwar as one of the chief architects of the 7 Oct. slaughter.

In past conflicts in Gaza, Hamas has been regularly accused by Israel and by human rights groups of illegally exploiting UNRWA facilities, including schools, to launch rockets, store munitions, and to otherwise shield the terrorist group.

UNRWA itself has been accused of enabling Hamas materially by providing humanitarian services that the terrorist group itself would otherwise have to provide, as well as ideologically by supporting school curricula that demonizes Israel and is rife with antisemitic content. Those criticisms contributed to the Trump administration suspending aid to the Agency in 2018. President Joe Biden restored aid to UNRWA after taking office in 2021.

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