A day after UNRWA said that its staffers were killed in a strike on the Al Jaouni School in the area of Nuseirat in central Gaza, the IDF revealed on Thursday that nine terrorists had been eliminated in the strike.
After UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the deaths of six UNRWA workers on Wednesday, the IDF said that it requested the details of the staff so that it could investigate - a request the military claimed remains unfulfilled.
What is "unacceptable,” @antonioguterres, is the fact you refuse to recognize reality and continue to distort it. Terrorists operating out of civilian buildings previously used by @UNRWA are not "innocent." It is unconscionable that the UN continues to condemn Israel in its… https://t.co/ThWltXRqFY
— Danny Danon דני דנון (@dannydanon) September 12, 2024
Hamas's media office said the Israeli strike killed at least 18 people, including the UNRWA staff members.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told Reuters on Wednesday that a lack of accountability for the killing of United Nations staff and humanitarian aid workers in Gaza was "totally unacceptable."
The terrorists eliminated in the strike
Muhammad Adnan Abu Zayd, a UNRWA employee and one of the nine terrorists listed, launched mortars at Israel as part of his role in Hamas's Military Wing, the military said.
Yasser Ibrahim Abu Sharar, another of the eliminated terrorists and an employee of UNRWA, reportedly acted as both a member of Hamas's military wing, the Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades, and as an operative in Hamas's emergency bureau in Nuseirat.
The military also said that Ayad Matar was both a UNRWA employee and a terrorist in Hamas's military wing.
The other terrorists named by the IDF were Aysar Karadia, a member of the Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades, and Bassem Majed Shaheen, who took part in Hamas's October 7 attack and was also a member of the group's military wing.
Also named were Amar al-Jadili and Akram Saber al-Ghalaydi, both members of Hamas's military wing and operatives in the group's Internal Security Forces.
Muhammad Issa Abu al-Amir, involved in the October 7 attack, was also part of Hamas's military wing. Finally, the IDF identified Sharif Salam as a member of Hamas's military wing.
Hamas's use of civilian and UNRWA infrastructure
Since and before October 7, Hamas has been recorded using civilian structures for their terrorist activities. Airstrikes have frequently eliminated Hamas terrorists and headquarters embedded within schools, where Gazan sources reported that a number of displaced Palestinian civilians were taking shelter.
In July, IDF troops identified Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad war rooms in UNRWA headquarters. Explosives, drones, and weapons were reportedly found on the premises.
During a search of a UNRWA school in May, IDF personnel found an extensive collection of terrorist weaponry.
Additionally, a total of 17 terrorists were eliminated in a strike on a UNRWA school in June.
Controversies surrounding the UN agency have led to a number of countries pausing or ceasing to fund UNRWA.
Most of the pause in funding came after UN Watch alleged that several UNRWA workers had actively participated in Hamas's October 7 attacks.
In UN Watch's investigation, the NGO revealed that a 3000-member Telegram group for UNRWA staff praised the attacks on October 7.