On September 30, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) announced that a senior member of the Islamic group Hamas who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon was a UNRWA employee. Connections between UNRWA staff and Hamas have once again come to light, potentially making it difficult for UNRWA to continue its operations.

At a press conference in Geneva, western Switzerland, Director-General Lazzarini explained that in March of this year, in response to allegations of ties between the employee and Hamas, he was “suspended and an investigation is underway.” He said he did not know that he was a senior member of Hamas’s military wing.

The Israeli mission to the international organization in Geneva said in a statement that the Hamas official “was the principal of a UNRWA school.” “Hamas is systematically and extensively infiltrating UNRWA,” it said.

UNRWA is expected to face a funding shortfall of approximately $80 million (approximately 11.5 billion yen) by the end of this year. Mr. Lazzarini complained that many countries have indicated the possibility of reducing aid, making it difficult to predict what will happen next year. (joint)