Israel broadcasts audio that blames UNRWA staff in Hamas attack

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) revealed this Monday audio recordings that match a telephone conversation between two employees of the United Nations Palestinian Refugee Agency (UNRWA) in the Gaza Strip. In which he talks about his participation in the attack carried out by the Hamas terrorist group on October 7.

“The Israel Defense Forces have revealed two recordings that incriminate two UNRWA professors of participating in the October 7 massacre,” the army said in a statement accompanying the recordings.

One of the audio matches the voice of Yousef Zidan Suleiman al Hawajara, whom Israel identifies as an Arabic teacher at the UNRWA school in Deir al Balah, in the center of the Strip. In his conversations, he describes his entry into Israeli territory and claims to have captured Israeli women.

The second audio is that of Mamdouh Hassin Ahmed Alkali, identified as a UNRWA primary school teacher in Khan Younis, an area in southern Gaza where Hamas has a stronghold. In his conversation he says that he is in Israeli territory.

According to the IDF, intelligence services determined that UNRWA “More than 450 members of terrorist organizations operate in the Gaza Strip, primarily Hamas.”And that these groups “regularly exploit international aid organizations for terrorist purposes.”

In January, Israel accused UNRWA that at least 12 of its staff were involved in the attack.

The UN agency immediately terminated its contracts and began an investigation, but before results could be obtained, 18 countries announced they were suspending their funding to the UN agency, including some of its main donors such as the United States, Canada, Germany and Japan.

Agencies contributed to this Arora article.