The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) accused Israeli forces of “torturing” a number of its employees whom they arrested in the Gaza Strip in connection with the war with Hamas.

The agency indicated that a number of its employees reported that they were forced to make confessions under torture and ill- treatment during interrogation by Israeli forces.

In this context, Philippe Lazzarini, Director-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), warned on Monday that “without additional funding, we will be in uncharted territory with serious repercussions for international peace and security.”

The United States, the largest donor to the United Nations agency, and other countries suspended funding after Israel accused 12 UNRWA employees of participating in the October 7 attack launched
by Hamas militants.

Israel intensified its criticism of UNRWA on Monday, and claimed that 450 of its employees are members of armed groups in the Gaza Strip, although it did not provide any evidence to support its accusations. The United Nations envoy focusing on sexual violence in conflict, Pramila Patten, said Monday that there are “reasonable grounds” to

believe that Israel committed rape, “sexual torture” and other cruel and inhuman treatment of women during the attack.

The attack led to an Israeli invasion of the enclave of 2.3 million people, which the Gaza Health Ministry says has killed more than 30,000 Palestinians. Aid groups say the fighting has displaced most of the region’s population and caused a humanitarian catastrophe.

UNRWA, which employs nearly 13,000 people in Gaza, is the largest aid provider in the Strip.

Monday’s allegations represent a significant escalation in accusations against the agency. Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, Israel’s chief military spokesman, did not provide names or other evidence to support the significantly increased number of UNRWA employees it said were armed.

“More than 450 UNRWA employees are military agents for terrorist groups in Gaza,” Hagari said. “This is not just a coincidence. This is systematic. “There is no claim that we did not know.”

In a statement, UNRWA accused Israel of detaining a number of its employees and forcing them, using torture and ill-treatment, to give false confessions about the links between the agency, Hamas, and the October 7 attack on Israel.

The statement stated, “These confessions extracted as a result of torture are being used by the Israeli authorities to spread more false

information about the agency as part of attempts to dismantle UNRWA.” “This puts our staff in Gaza at risk and has serious repercussions for our operations in Gaza and throughout the region.”

After Israel’s initial accusation against UNRWA, the agency fired the accused staff and more than a dozen countries suspended funding worth about $450 million, nearly half of its budget for the year.

Two UN investigations into Israel’s allegations were already underway when the European Union said on Friday it would pay 50 million euros ($54 million) to UNRWA after the agency agreed to let EU-appointed experts review the way it screens staff to identify extremists.

The accusations came as Benny Gantz, a senior member of Israel’s wartime cabinet, met with US officials in Washington while talks were underway in Egypt to broker a ceasefire in Gaza before the start of the holy month of Ramadan next week.