The US Agency for International Development Office of Inspector General announced Wednesday that it has provided evidence leading to the recommendation for disbarment of three UNRWA staff members by the State Department, citing their roles within Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, as well as participation in holding hostages or in the October 7 massacre.
UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, provides humanitarian services to millions of Palestinians across the Middle East. The United States was a major funder of UNRWA until 2019 when the Trump administration cut funding, and the Biden administration only partially restored it in subsequent years.
What the Right Is Saying
Conservative lawmakers and national security analysts have welcomed the OIG findings as a necessary step to protect US foreign assistance from reaching hostile actors. Supporters argue that any confirmed ties between UNRWA staff and Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad represent an unacceptable breach of the neutrality required of humanitarian organizations receiving American funding.
Some Republican members of Congress have long questioned UNRWA's structure and have called for greater oversight, arguing that the agency's role in refugee status transmission perpetuates the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They contend that disbarring individuals with confirmed extremist ties is a baseline requirement, not an overreach.
What the Left Is Saying
Humanitarian organizations aligned with progressive causes have emphasized that actions against individual staff members should not be used to discredit the broader agency. Critics note that UNRWA serves millions of vulnerable refugees and that cutting aid could worsen an already dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, where civilians face severe food and medical shortages.
Advocacy groups argue that investigations must be thorough and evidence-based before imposing sweeping bans, warning that premature disbarments without full due process could undermine the integrity of international aid operations. They stress that most UNRWA employees are neutral humanitarian workers with no extremist affiliations.
What the Numbers Show
The USAID OIG announcement targets three specific staff members for disbarment, preventing them from participating in future US-funded contracts or programs. The agency did not disclose how many total UNRWA employees have been investigated since October 7, nor did it specify whether additional referrals are pending.
UNRWA employs approximately 30,000 people across Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. Prior to the 2019 funding cutoff, the United States contributed roughly $300 million annually to the agency, making it one of the largest donors.
The Bottom Line
The USAID OIG recommendation represents a significant escalation in US scrutiny of UNRWA operations following October 7. If the State Department formally approves disbarment, these three individuals will be barred from any US-funded work. What remains unclear is whether this marks the beginning of broader sanctions against UNRWA itself or stays limited to individual cases. Congress is expected to review the OIG findings during upcoming oversight hearings.