UN aid chief demands evidence after Israel accuses staff of links to Hamas

Israel did not provide any proof of its claims

A UN vehicle on the Palestinian side of the Karam Abu Salem crossing in the Gaza Strip. AP Photo

UN aid chief Tom Fletcher has demanded that Israel provides evidence for its accusations that staff with the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) were affiliated with Palestinian militants Hamas, according to a letter seen by Reuters on Friday.

At a UN Security Council meeting on Wednesday, Israel's UN ambassador Danny Danon declared that Mr Fletcher and OCHA were no longer neutral and that hundreds of OCHA employees would be vetted for security.

Israel would also restrict OCHA visas to one month, he said.

“Israel has uncovered clear evidence of Hamas affiliation within OCHA’s ranks,” Mr Danon told the 15-member council, without providing evidence.

In a letter to the Security Council on Thursday, Mr Fletcher said Mr Danon's remarks were the first time any such concern had been raised and that the accusations were “extremely serious and have security implications for our staff”.

“I expect the Israeli authorities to immediately share any evidence that led them to make such claims to the council,” Mr Fletcher said.

He noted that around the world OCHA engages with all parties to armed conflict to secure humanitarian access, press for the protection of civilians and promote respect for humanitarian principles, adding: “As Israeli authorities know, our contacts with Hamas have also supported hostage releases.”

Israel is committed to helping civilians and getting aid to those in need, Mr Danon said, although he warned: “We will not work with organisations that have chosen politics over principles.”

The war in Gaza broke out on October 7, 2023, when Hamas killed 1,200 people in southern Israel and took some 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Since then, Israel's military campaign has killed nearly 60,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities, and reduced much of the enclave to ruins.

“We must hold all parties to the standards of international law in this conflict,” Mr Fletcher wrote in his letter.

“We do not choose between demanding the end to the starvation of civilians in Gaza and demanding the unconditional release of all the hostages.”

Israel, which controls all supplies entering Gaza, denies it is responsible for shortages of food, despite reports of dozens of deaths from starvation and malnutrition and repeated warnings from international aid organisations.

In the first two weeks of July, the UN children's agency Unicef treated 5,000 children facing acute malnutrition in Gaza.

World Health Organisation director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday that Gaza was suffering man-made starvation caused by a blockade on aid into the enclave.

Israeli army radio quoted a military official as saying on Friday that it would allow foreign countries to deliver air supplies in the coming days. However, aid agencies have said that airdrops are dangerous and insufficient to meet the scale of need.