A U.S. watchdog has flagged 101 UNRWA-linked workers in Gaza for possible aid bans, intensifying global scrutiny over humanitarian neutrality, Hamas ties, and taxpayer-funded relief.
A United States federal watchdog agency has referred 101 current or former staff members of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to the State Department for potential suspension or debarment, citing evidence of their participation in the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks or affiliation with Hamas.
The USAID Office of Inspector General (USAID OIG), an independent oversight and law enforcement body, announced that the individuals include UNRWA school principals, teachers, medical professionals, security staff, attendants, and psychosocial counselors.
The referrals are part of an ongoing U.S. investigation aimed at blocking individuals tied to designated foreign terrorist organizations from gaining employment with any U.S.-funded humanitarian groups operating in the region.
According to the inspector general, the list of referred personnel includes individuals who allegedly held double roles as civilian aid workers and active military operatives within Hamas’ military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades.
Among the specific cases detailed by investigators are:
A deputy school principal allegedly serving as an al-Qassam deputy company commander in the Ain Gallout/5th infantry battalion. A school principal assigned to the chemical department of a Hamas military manufacturing unit. Investigators noted that three anti-tank positions and a tunnel shaft were discovered underneath that principal’s school facility. A teacher with documented expertise as a sniper for Hamas. A teacher who allegedly served as a Hamas soldier and was ordered to transport two anti-tank missiles to a designated location during the Oct. 7 assault on Israel. Multiple educators and administrators serving as platoon commanders, squad leaders, and intelligence officers responsible for tracking explosive devices.
The 101 new names bring the total number of UNRWA-linked individuals referred for suspension or debarment by the USAID OIG to 108. The watchdog noted that some of the recent entries represent supplemental referrals, where fresh evidence was uncovered against individuals previously flagged.
The announcement follows the previous government-wide debarment of Hafez Mousa Mohammed Mousa, a former UNRWA school principal. U.S. investigators found that Mousa functioned as an operative for the Hamas East Jabaliya Battalion and actively coordinated communications with other suspected Hamas members during the Oct. 7 attacks. Mousa’s case marked the first time the U.S. government issued a formal debarment against a terrorist affiliated with a U.S.-funded United Nations humanitarian agency.
“It remains USAID OIG’s investigative priority to ensure that U.S.-funded humanitarian assistance in Gaza does not fall into the hands of Hamas and other foreign terrorist organizations, depriving assistance from reaching civilian non-combatants in need,” the oversight office said in a statement.
The inspector general indicated that its active investigation is expected to yield more names for the State Department, as well as potential criminal referrals to the Department of Justice. The office added that it is actively reviewing operational data to prevent the “recirculation” of actors flagged for terrorist affiliations across other aid networks currently operating inside Gaza. The latest referrals come amid intense international scrutiny over the neutrality of UNRWA, which serves as the primary gateway for food, medical care, and education for millions of Palestinian refugees. While the U.S. and other Western donors have previously paused or conditioned funding to the agency over neutrality breaches, humanitarian groups argue that UNRWA remains an indispensable lifeline for non-combatant civilians trapped in the ongoing conflict.
The State Department will now review the inspector general’s findings to determine whether the 101 individuals will face formal debarment, effectively blacklisting them from participating in any future humanitarian programs financed by American taxpayers.
