Try the political quiz
 @ISIDEWITHNewsHamasMiddle East ConflictUSAidForeign AidUNRWA•••4 days ago

UN agency fires 70 Gaza workers after US investigation finds Hamas ties

On Friday, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) fired 70 employees in Gaza following a U.S. investigation into links with Hamas.

The USAID Inspector General reportedly identified over 100 staff members, including teachers and principals, who allegedly participated in the October 7 terrorist attacks. While UNRWA says the dismissals aim to mitigate safety and security risks, the agency maintains these firings are not an admission of guilt. Watchdog groups argue this small fraction of terminations proves deeper infiltration, while Palestinian political movements condemned the move as surrendering to Israeli pressure.

Lawmakers and international donors are now weighing whether to continue funding the agency as more names are referred for federal debarment.

.
+
Expand

Knowledge quiz

How much do you know about Hamas?

See if you know more than the average American.

Test your knowledge!

Knowledge quiz

How much do you know about Middle East Conflict?

See if you know more than the average American.

Test your knowledge!

3 Replies

 @ISIDEWITHlinked…4 days4D

UNRWA fires 70 Gaza staffers amid allegations of Hamas ties, says terminations not admission of guilt

https://foxnews.com

 @ISIDEWITHlinked…4 days4D

UNRWA dismisses employees after accusations of role in October 7 by Israel

https://jpost.com

 @ISIDEWITHlinked…4 days4D

Dismantling UNRWA Won't Erase the Conflict It Represents

https://haaretz.com

More conversations

Join in on more popular conversations.

 @ISIDEWITH submitted…2yrs2Y

Elizabeth Warren Walks Back Murder Comments

Congressional Democrats broadly denounced the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson Friday morning, after Republicans started accusing Sen. Elizabeth Warren of excusing violence.“No one's condoning this,” said Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.). “Violence never is the right answer for anything. And it was a horrible murder, a tragic loss for his family.” Warren this week condemned the shooting, but added that people “can be pushed only so far.”"We'll say it over and over," Warren said on MSNBC’S “The ReidOut.” " Violence is never the answer. This guy [Luigi Mangione] gets a trial who's allegedly killed the CEO of UnitedHealth, but you can only push people so far, and then they start to take matters into their own hands."In a statement to POLITICO, Warren said, “Violence is never the answer. Period. I should have been much clearer that there is never a justification for murder.” Top Republicans denounced Warren's comments and the walked-back rhetoric, with House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) calling it “inappropriate and dangerous.”Some House Democrats asked about the incident on Thursday pivoted the conversation to discuss policy options on health care or gun safety.“I don't really know that this is really a space that Congress normally weighs in on,” said Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas). “But at the end of the day, I think it’s an opportunity, because now people are talking about health care and to talk about the fact that this industry has honestly not been as helpful as it could be.”“Violence is never the answer,” said Rep. Troy Carter (D-La.). “We know that there are people suffering, there’s great challenges in healthcare. There's great challenges, and people have, in fact, been wronged, but a process of governance is the way to address that, not violence.”And Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) who denounced the murder, said the killer should be prosecuted and that “I do know that allegedly a ghost gun was used, and we should also ban ghost guns. There's no reason for them beyond the streets.”

▲  1614 replies

 @ISIDEWITH submitted…2yrs2Y

Israeli Bombings Kill 2,300 In Lebanon in 3 weeks

Lebanese authorities say Israeli bombing has killed more than 2,300 people and injured almost 11,000, mostly in the past three weeks, with Israeli attacks reaching areas far beyond Hizbollah’s traditional bastions of support in the south.The Israeli military has ordered people living in more than a quarter of Lebanon to flee, according to a UN calculation, as its fight with the Iran-backed Shia militant group Hizbollah threatens to engulf the Mediterranean country.Lebanese authorities say Israeli bombing has killed more than 2,300 people and injured almost 11,000, mostly in the past three weeks, with Israeli attacks reaching areas far beyond Hizbollah’s traditional bastions of support in the south.More than 1mn people have fled their homes in Lebanon in under a month, according to its government, a dramatic forced movement of the population in a country of only about 5mn inhabitants with a land mass smaller than the US state of Connecticut. Israeli forces began a ground offensive in south Lebanon two weeks ago, in their fourth invasion of the country in under five decades. They had already destroyed large parts of the densely populated southern Beirut suburb where Hizbollah had its headquarters, and killed many top militant commanders in air strikes, including former leader Hassan Nasrallah.Rema Jamous Imseis, Middle East director of UNHCR, told journalists in Geneva that “over 25 per cent of [Lebanon is] under a direct Israeli military evacuation order”. “People are heeding these calls to evacuate and they’re fleeing with almost nothing,” she added, saying that 80 per cent of the shelters opened by the Lebanese government — mostly in schools — were now full.

▲  1012 replies