How the Oct 7 Hamas terror attacks exposed long-running concerns about UNRWA, new film charges

EXCLUSIVE: As Israeli bulldozers razed structures astatine the UNRWA office connected Tuesday aft Israel enacted authorities past twelvemonth banning the agency’s operations connected Israeli territory, a caller documentary sheds airy connected the arguable U.N. bureau for its adjacent narration with Hamas terrorists, and its lax controls of allowing antisemitism to beryllium taught to generations of its students.

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini condemned the determination against the UNRWA buildings, calling it a usurpation of planetary law, portion Israeli officials said the compound had not been successful progressive usage and that the demolition was carried retired successful accordance with Israeli law.

The improvement comes weeks aft the United Nations General Assembly voted to renew UNRWA’s mandate done 2029, contempt increasing absorption and abstentions from respective Western countries. The renewal followed months of contention surrounding the bureau aft Israeli authorities provided videos that amusement UNRWA employees participating successful the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 massacre. Those allegations stay nether investigation, and UNRWA has said it dismissed respective unit members pursuing the claims.

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During the warfare successful Gaza, the Israeli subject has besides discovered weapons, passageway shafts and different Hamas infrastructure successful UNRWA facilities, including schools.

Heavy machinery operates arsenic Israeli forces dismantle the Jerusalem office of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), successful East Jerusalem, Jan. 20, 2026.  (Ammar Awad/Reuters)

Fox News Digital reported past week that UNRWA USA acknowledged reports that the Trump medication is considering designating UNRWA arsenic a overseas violent enactment and that bureau officials urged legislature staffers to reason the move.

Last October, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, talking to reporters successful Israel, reiterated the Trump administration's argumentation to the U.N. and UNRWA. "The United Nations is here. They’re connected the ground. We’re consenting to enactment with them if they tin marque it work, but not UNRWA. UNRWA became a subsidiary of Hamas."

The caller documentary titled "UNraveling UNRWA" is present drafting renewed attraction to the agency’s structure, past and governmental role.

The movie examines UNRWA from its constitution successful 1949 to its operations today. It features interviews with refugees, Arab and Israeli voices, arsenic good arsenic erstwhile UNRWA officials.

Participants successful the movie reason that UNRWA has agelong promoted U.N. General Assembly Resolution 194, a 1948 measurement Palestinians construe arsenic granting refugees and their descendants the close to instrumentality to homes wrong Israel, an thought the documentary shows has helped perpetuate exile presumption alternatively than resoluteness it.

A antheral stands successful Gaza with UNRWA aid. (Reuters)

Zlatko Zigic, erstwhile manager of the U.N. migration bureau from 1997 to 2017, says successful the movie that "the occupation of UNRWA is the conception of endless conflict of Palestinians to return," adding that maintaining a close of instrumentality to Israel has "become a instrumentality to perpetuate the conflict."

The documentary besides includes scenes filmed wrong UNRWA schools, showing schoolroom lessons successful which children are taught that they volition 1 time instrumentality to onshore wrong Israel. In 1 country presented successful the film, Jews are referred to arsenic "the wolves," and a teacher asks simple schoolhouse students, "What did the Jews bash to us?" earlier telling them they were expelled and deported, that their families were killed, and they should beryllium grateful to UNRWA, who built exile camps for them.

In an interrogation with Fox News Digital, erstwhile UNRWA ineligible advisor James Lindsay, who besides appears successful the film, said that dynamic lies astatine the bosom of what helium believes is simply a systemic problem.

"The main occupation successful oversight has to do, I’m beauteous sure, apt astatine the crushed level wherever the section authorities, successful this lawsuit we’re talking astir Gaza, truthful we’re talking astir Hamas," Lindsay said. "The radical who enactment for UNRWA are subject, yes, to UNRWA, but they are adjacent much importantly taxable to the section authorities," successful this lawsuit Hamas.

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A Palestinian lad walks adjacent an UNRWA schoolhouse sheltering displaced radical that was deed successful an an overnight Israeli strike, successful Gaza City, July 5, 2025. (Dawoud Abu Alkas/Reuters)

Lindsay said that portion donor governments whitethorn spot elaborate paperwork and reporting, the world connected the crushed tin look precise different.

He said UNRWA enactment historically did not effort to barroom Hamas members from employment, arguing that the enactment viewed Hamas arsenic portion of Palestinian governmental life.

"UNRWA has made nary effort to support Hamas out," Lindsay said. "The presumption for the commissioners-general has been that UNRWA does not person a occupation with Hamas."

He described an situation successful which section unit and contractors faced terrible unit from Hamas, creating incentives to comply with demands alternatively than hazard retaliation.

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An IDF infographic with descriptions of what it claims are the UNRWA workers that took portion successful the Oct 7 massacre. (IDF Spokesman's Unit)

"If Hamas comes to you and says, we would similar possibly 5% of the factual you’re using, oregon possibly you request to amusement 5% much nutrient was distributed than really was, you’re not going to accidental no," helium said. "If you don’t bash what Hamas says, you’re not going to get fired. You’re going to person precise atrocious things hap to you."

Lindsay said those realities seldom scope elder planetary staff, who marque up lone a tiny fraction of UNRWA’s workforce successful Gaza.

"In Gaza you’re talking astir possibly 12,000 -13,000 full unit members, of whom possibly 25 are existent internationals," helium said.

He said that implicit time, galore humanitarian workers developed what the U.S. State Department refers to arsenic "clientitis," a improvement successful which assistance organizations statesman to place politically with the populations they serve.

This representation taken during a media circuit organised by the Israeli service connected February 8, 2024, shows Israeli soldiers wrong an evacuated compound of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) successful Gaza City. (Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images)

"Humanitarian organizations person begun to place with the radical to whom they’re providing humanitarian aid," Lindsay said. "In that case, that means identifying with 1 strain of the Palestinian governmental scene, which is Hamas."

Lindsay said helium initially believed UNRWA could beryllium reformed but aboriginal concluded the agency’s operation made meaningful betterment impossible.

"It can’t beryllium reformed successful the consciousness that it’s not allowed to betterment by the governmental radical successful charge," helium said. "It’s besides hard to betterment UNRWA due to the fact that the members of UNRWA person go what the State Department calls clientitis."

He besides criticized the agency’s handling of acquisition content, saying teachers successful UNRWA schools were taxable to the aforesaid threats and coercion arsenic different staff.

UNRWA's office successful Gaza City, Gaza connected Feb. 21, 2024.  (Dawoud Abo Alkas/Anadolu via Getty Images)

"What are radical going to bash nether a murderous totalitarian authorities similar Hamas?" Lindsay said. "They’re not going to instrumentality their chances."

Following the General Assembly’s caller ballot to renew UNRWA’s mandate, Lindsay said the bureau views the result arsenic a ballot of assurance but noted that absorption is growing.

"In 2022, determination was 1 ballot against renewing the mandate and 10 abstentions," helium said. "Most recently, determination were 10 votes against and 18 abstentions. The question is against UNRWA due to the fact that of the things that person been brought retired implicit the past fewer years, peculiarly since Oct.7 of 2023."

He added that portion UNRWA enjoys wide enactment among U.N. subordinate states, those countries are not the agency’s superior funders.

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A Palestinian lad carries an assistance container provided by UNRWA, amid a ceasefire betwixt Hamas and Israel, successful Gaza City, February 3, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas

"The immense bulk of countries successful the U.N. are anti-West and are surely pro-UNRWA," Lindsay said. "But donors are the ones that number due to the fact that the wealth each comes from voluntary donations, mostly by Western countries, the aforesaid countries that are becoming nervous. And that is, I think, a existent menace to the continuation of UNRWA."