UNRWA has been caught stealing and then selling humanitarian aid that came into Gaza that was intended to be given to Palestinian civilians, UN Watch reported on Wednesday, citing reports published by Palestinians in "an UNRWA-related chatroom."
The Watch report also claims that those who report UNRWA's actions with the humanitarian aid "face reprisals."
According to the report, Palestinians claimed that staff working for the UN agency “have their homes full of aid.” Additionally, a UNRWA warehouse chief sold 50 cartons of food for $5,000.
BREAKING: UNRWA staff stealing and selling humanitarian aid, Gazans report• UNRWA warehouse chief sold 50 cartons of food for $5,000• Pampers, canned sweets, tissues stolen and sold at UNRWA school door• UNRWA staff “have their homes full of aid”https://t.co/7cXGzrSUGj
— UN Watch (@UNWatch) May 8, 2024
Items such as pampers, canned sweets, and tissues were sold at a UNRWA school door. This comes amid statement by UNRWA Commissioner-General Phillipe Lazzarini, who was quoted in the UN Watch report saying “there is more food available… it still does not mean that the food is accessible” as he was calling countries to increase direct cash assistance to Gazans.
Looking closer into UNRWA's exposure
Former UNRWA employee Haitham al-Sayyed ran the chatroom that exposed the agency's theft and selling of aid. The UN Watch reported that he had "created several chat rooms for staff and educators to share posts, many of which feature antisemitism, incitement to hatred and Jihadi terrorism" during the near two decades he worked for the agency.
However, today, he disseminates information about UNRWA salaries in his chatrooms, which the Watch also reports that thousands of UNRWA employees were celebrating Iran's drone attacks on Israel.