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IDF Spokesperson/TPS-IL on 24 October, 2024
Nukhba Force Commander Killed in Airstrike Was on UNRWA Payroll
Jerusalem, 24 October, 2024 (TPS) -- A Hamas commander who was also a UNRWA employee was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces said.
The IDF said Mohammad Abu Itiwi, a senior commander from Hamas’s elite Nukhba unit, led the assault on a bomb shelter near Kibbutz Re’im, where people attending the Nova Music Festival had fled.
“He was also employed by UNRWA. We will continue to pursue and reach anyone who participated in the brutal massacre,” said IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari.
The airstrike took place on the Hebrew anniversary of the October 7 attack, which also took place during the holiday of Simchat Torah.
“On this day, one year ago, at 6:29 in the morning, war began when the terrorist organization Hamas launched a brutal attack, murdering and abducting Israeli civilians,” Hagari said. “Since that day, the IDF has been fighting with determination and strength on all fronts to restore security to the residents of the south, the north, and all Israeli citizens.”
UNRWA, which supports Palestinian refugees, has been under fire for months, with Israeli officials demanding the agency be stripped of its authority in Gaza and defunded amid revelations that members of the agency’s staff participated in Hamas’s October 7 attacks. The Israeli government is bypassing UNRWA in distributing humanitarian aid and advancing legislation to label the agency as a terror organization and remove its diplomatic immunity, tax-exempt status and other legal benefits.
Palestinian refugees are the only refugee population with its own dedicated. UN agency. The rest of the world’s refugees fall under the mandate of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Israeli officials have called for UNRWA to be closed and for Palestinian refugees to be brought under the responsibility of the UNHCR.
In June, more than 100 survivors of Hamas’s October 7 attacks filed a $1 billion lawsuit against UNRWA, accusing the agency of “aiding and abetting” the terror group.
At least 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 97 remaining hostages, more than 30 have been declared dead. Hamas has also been holding captive two Israeli civilians since 2014 and 2015, and the bodies of two soldiers killed in 2014.
