U.N. Chief 'Horrified' After Claims That Agency Staffers Were Involved in Hamas Attack

TIME

In a statement read on Friday by the U.N. Secretary-General spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, the Secretary-General called for an investigation and for employees shown to have participated to be terminated and referred for potential criminal prosecution.

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00:00 The Secretary General is horrified by this news and asked Mr. Lazzarini to investigate this matter swiftly

00:07 and to ensure that any UNRWA employees shown to have participated or abetted in what transpired on October 7th

00:14 or in any other criminal activity be terminated immediately and referred for potential criminal prosecution.

00:21 To protect the agency's ability to deliver humanitarian assistance,

00:25 Commissioner General Lazzarini has taken the decision to immediately terminate the contracts of all these staff members

00:33 and launch an investigation in order to establish the truth without delay.

00:37 There are hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza

00:44 who rely on UNRWA's humanitarian work, who rely on humanitarian assistance, even more now than they did before.

00:52 It is the work that UNRWA does remains critical today,

01:00 and we very much hope that while UNRWA continues – a number of things have to happen at the same time.

01:06 UNRWA has to ask OIOS to do this investigation.

01:11 The Commissioner General, I think, has taken very swift and strong measures right away.

01:17 But at the same time, our humanitarian work needs to continue. Lives depend on it.

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