UN fires 9 staffers after probe suspects their involvement in Oct 7 attack

The UN says it has fired nine staff members from its agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, after an internal investigation found they may have been involved in the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack against Israel.

The UN secretary-general's office announced the move in a brief statement to journalists Monday. It did not elaborate on the UNRWA staffers' likely role in the attack. It said the nine included seven staffers who were fired previously over the claims.

The UN's internal watchdog has been investigating the agency since Israel in January accused 12 UNRWA staffers of being involved in the October 7 attack on Israel in which militants killed 1,200 people and abducted some 250 others.

Israel's allegations initially led top donor countries to suspend their funding for UNRWA, the main agency providing aid to Palestinians in Gaza amid the 10-month old war there. That caused a cash crunch of about USD 450 million dollars. Since then, all donor countries except for the US have decid