Israel Alleges that Sinwar’s Bodyguard Worked for UNRWA

On Thursday evening, the Israeli military reported the killing of Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas’s political division, in a military mission in Rafah’s Tel al-Sultan region in Southern Gaza. Image: misbar

(The Post News)– The head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine refugees has denied reports that claim that any of its employees had perished together with Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza on Thursday.

According to the Israeli media, two of the people who died with Sinwar were his bodyguards, one of whom was claimed to be employed by UNRWA. They later posted pictures of materials which they said, had been retrieved from the scene, including, cash, weapons, mentos and an ‘UNRWA ID’ which led to the extent of causing a sensation online, that the organization was in cahoots with Hamas, or that the head was masquerading under wrong identity.

Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA), has confirmed on X that the individual is alive and residing in Egypt, having traveled there in April with his family through the Rafah border. He stated that it is the moment to stop disinformation campaigns.

Despite all these circumstances, it was claimed in the document that an expired passport found with the man, still alive, who, according to the information, had previously abandoned Gaza.

The accusations on the activities of UNRWA are revealed in the context of a broader Israeli policy to delegitimize this relief organization, which supports the Palestinian population.

The moment the campaign against Gaza began, in October 2023, Israel stepped up its activity against the UN agency, which plays a critical role to millions of Palestinian refugees, claiming among others, that one of their agents died in cross fire with the late head of Hamas.

These false claims have led to some social media accounts calling for an end to funding for UNRWA. This follows from a multitude of Israeli claims regarding staffers being members of Hamas.

This includes January’s allegations that 19 staffers were involved in Hamas’ 7 October attacks on Israel that killed 1,200 people.

The conflict has caused over 42,400 Palestinian deaths-mostly women and children-and displaced almost the entire population of Gaza, according to local health authorities.