Trump admin weighs terrorism sanctions against UN Palestinian aid agency over Hamas allegations

By Fox News · Fox News

The Trump administration is weighing whether to pursue terrorism-related sanctions against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), as officials review allegations the agency has ties to Hamas and consider steps that could further pressure its leadership and operations, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The United Nations agency provides aid, schooling, healthcare, shelter and social services to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria. U.N. officials have described UNRWA as the backbone of Gaza’s aid effort during the two-year war between Israel and Hamas, but the Trump administration has accused the group of ties to Hamas – an allegation the agency vehemently disputes. Washington, once UNRWA’s biggest donor, froze funding in January 2024 after Israel accused roughly a dozen staff members of involvement in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack that triggered the war. In October, Secretary of State Marco Rubio referred to UNRWA as a subsidiary of Hamas. NEW FILM PROBES UN AGENCY’S ALLEGED TERROR TIES AND CLAIMS IT FUELED THE ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT "UNRWA's not going to play any role in it," Rubio said at the time when asked whether the agency would assist in delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza. "The United Nations is here. They're on the ground. We're willing to work with them if they can make it work, but not UNRWA. UNRWA became a subsidiary of Hamas." Reuters reported it was unclear whether recent internal discussions focused on sanctioning the entire agency or specific officials or operations, and that U.S. officials have not yet settled on what type of sanctions they might pursue. The sources said the State Department has discussed declaring UNRWA a "foreign terrorist organization," or FTO – a step that would financially isolate the agency. UN UNDER FIRE AS USAID INVESTIGATORS PROBE HAMAS DIVERSION OF AID TO GAZA Any broad move against UNRWA could disrupt refugee aid across the region, as t…