USAID Watchdog Refers Four More UNRWA Staffers Over Hamas Links
USAID Watchdog Refers Four More UNRWA Staffers Over Hamas Links
WASHINGTON - USAID's inspector general said it found evidence linking four additional current or former UNRWA staffers to the October 7 attacks in Israel and/or Hamas affiliation, sending the names to the State Department for possible suspension or debarment from future U.S.-funded aid work.
The April 30 investigative summary makes the Gaza aid fight a direct American taxpayer issue. USAID OIG says Gaza is a high-risk area for diversion and misuse of U.S.-funded assistance, while the United Nations has previously said its own investigators could not independently authenticate much of the Israeli-held information behind earlier UNRWA allegations.
The Story So Far
USAID OIG said the four subjects were three UNRWA-employed teachers and one social worker. The office said they allegedly participated in holding civilian hostages kidnapped from Israel and/or terrorist activities inside Israel on October 7, 2023.
The watchdog did not identify the four people in the public summary. It also described the action as a referral for possible suspension or debarment, not a criminal charge or conviction.
Under 2 CFR 200.214, recipients and subrecipients of federal awards are subject to federal nonprocurement suspension and debarment rules. In practice, the process can bar a person or entity from federal awards, subawards and related federally funded work.
What's Happening Now
USAID OIG said its UNRWA investigation has now produced suspension and debarment referrals for seven subjects accused of participating in the October 7 attacks and 14 subjects tied to Hamas affiliation. The office said the investigation remains active and additional referrals are expected.
The watchdog also cited the 10-year government-wide debarment of Hafez Mousa Mohammed Mousa. USAID OIG described Mousa as an operative of the Hamas East Jabaliya Battalion who served as a UNRWA school principal and coordinated communications with other suspected Hamas members during the October 7 attacks.
USAID OIG said that action was the first known U.S. debarment of a terrorist-affiliated person connected to a UN agency responsible for humanitarian assistance programming.
Economic Implications
The immediate financial mechanism is not a line item in a budget fight. It is eligibility. USAID OIG said the four subjects were referred to the State Department so they can be considered for exclusion from future U.S.-funded aid organizations.
That matters because USAID OIG says Gaza is a high-risk area for potential diversion and misuse of U.S.-funded assistance. Its Gaza Oversight page says USAID implementing partners, including nongovernmental organizations, contractors and UN agencies or public international organizations, must disclose allegations involving potential diversion or misuse of USAID funds.
For U.S. taxpayers, the referral system is a control layer. If Washington funds humanitarian logistics in Gaza, the screening, reporting and exclusion systems decide whether people tied to Hamas or the October 7 attacks can move from one aid organization to another.
The U.S. Security View
USAID OIG framed the investigation as part of its responsibility to keep U.S.-funded humanitarian assistance in Gaza out of the hands of Hamas and other foreign terrorist organizations. The office said it has additional investigative work aimed at preventing terrorist-affiliated actors from recirculating across aid organizations operating in Gaza.
That framing connects humanitarian aid to national-security screening. The question for U.S. officials is whether aid can reach civilians without allowing people accused of hostage-taking or Hamas affiliation to work inside U.S.-funded aid channels.
The UN and Humanitarian View
The UN's prior public account was more cautious about the evidence base. UN News reported in August 2024 that the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services investigated allegations against 19 UNRWA staff members and found that evidence indicated nine may have been involved in the October 7 attacks.
UN News also reported that OIOS was not able to independently authenticate much of the information used by Israel to support the allegations because that information remained in Israeli custody. UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said at the time that the nine staff members could not work for UNRWA and that their contracts would be terminated.
The UN account also emphasized UNRWA's continuing role in Gaza's humanitarian system. UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said many UNRWA staff members had taken risks for months to keep people alive in shelters and through food and service delivery, according to UN News.
Other Perspectives
Israeli officials have argued since the early allegations that UNRWA's Gaza staffing created security risks after October 7, according to the UN's own description of the OIOS investigation. The new USAID OIG referral gives U.S. officials a separate American process for reviewing individuals tied to U.S.-funded aid work.
Humanitarian organizations will likely watch the case for a different reason: whether Washington can tighten screening without slowing aid delivery in a war zone. USAID OIG's own language points to that tension by pairing diversion concerns with the need for accountable humanitarian assistance.
By the Numbers
- 4: Additional current or former UNRWA staffers referred by USAID OIG to the State Department.
- 3: UNRWA-employed teachers among the four subjects, according to USAID OIG.
- 1: Social worker among the four subjects, according to USAID OIG.
- 7: Subjects referred so far for alleged participation in the October 7 attacks, according to USAID OIG.
- 14: Subjects referred so far for Hamas affiliation, according to USAID OIG.
- 10 years: Government-wide debarment imposed on Hafez Mousa Mohammed Mousa, according to USAID OIG.
- 19: UNRWA staff members reviewed in the 2024 OIOS investigation, according to UN News.
What People Are Saying
"USAID OIG, a statutorily independent law enforcement and oversight entity, has found evidence linking four additional current or former staff at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) to participation in the October 7 terrorist attacks in Israel and/or affiliation with Hamas." - USAID Office of Inspector General, investigative summary, April 30, 2026
"These subjects were referred to the U.S. Department of State for consideration of suspension and/or debarment action to exclude them from working across future U.S.-funded aid organizations." - USAID Office of Inspector General, investigative summary, April 30, 2026
"USAID OIG has identified Gaza as a high-risk area for potential diversion and misuse of U.S.-funded assistance." - USAID Office of Inspector General, Gaza Oversight page
"OIOS was not able to independently authenticate information used by Israel to support the allegations." - UN News summary of the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services investigation, August 5, 2024
"I have decided that in the case of these remaining nine staff members, they cannot work for UNRWA. All contracts of these staff members will be terminated in the interest of the Agency." - Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA commissioner-general, quoted by UN News
The Big Picture
USAID OIG's new referrals put Gaza aid oversight back in front of the State Department. The issue is not only whether particular people are punished, but whether U.S.-funded humanitarian systems can identify and exclude people tied to Hamas while keeping aid moving to civilians.
The next public signals are whether State announces formal suspension or debarment actions, whether USAID OIG releases additional referrals and whether UNRWA issues a direct response to the April 30 summary.
