This past week witnessed the freeing of three Israeli hostages: Emily Damari, Romi Gonen, and Doron Steinbrecher, in exchange for 90 Palestinians prisoners, many of whom have terrorist convictions. In Gaza, members of the Hamas police force came out in full uniform after months of hiding while civilians cheered them on, making it appear that support for Hamas even after nearly 1.5 years of bloodshed has not waned. Even more shocking is the revelation that during their time in captivity, these three hostages were held for a duration inside of UNRWA designated areas. Presently there are 8 official refugee camps within Gaza that are operated by the UNRWA, some with populations as high as 100,000, and the freed hostages attest that they were held in one of these camps. What many do not know is that UN officials don’t administer or police these camps, they leave those tasks to Hamas. This is not the first time that the UNRWA has been accused of collaborating with Hamas. Israeli intelligence accused at least 19 UNRWA employees of aiding in carrying out the Oct. 7th massacre. Nine of these accused UNRWA employees have since been fired.
This is not the first time that the UNRWA has been accused of collaborating with Hamas against Israel. Presently, UN Watch Reports that 10% of the UNRWA’s employees are directly linked to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad while 50% have close relatives who belong to these groups. The IDF also uncovered a major Hamas Data Center located underground directly beneath the headquarters of the UNRWA. The revelation of weapons stashes found in UNRWA facilities as well as clear evidence that schools administered by the UNRWA teach blatantly anti-Israel & anti-Semitic material has led many nations to begin to suspend funding to the organization. Sadly, this isn’t the only time that Hamas has violated International Law in regards using civilians structures for military purposes.
The terrorist organization Hamas is notorious for deliberately using hospitals for militant purposes. Captured terrorists informed the IDF on several occasions that the three hostages were held at various times at the Kamal Adwan Hospital. Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of the hospital, stated that Hamas regularly infiltrated & used the hospital & that the staff continually collaborated with the militants when they did so. A second captured terrorist, Anas Muhammad Faiz al-Sharif, who was the cleaning supervisor at the hospital, told the IDF that Hamas considered the hospital a “safe haven” as they knew the Israeli military would not directly target it. International Humanitarian Law does indeed make it very clear that hospitals are not to be deliberately targeted by militaries during armed conflict. However, it also states that they are not to be used by any combatants for military purposes.
Nevertheless, many human rights & UN organizations such as the Red Cross, the WHO, & the UNRWA show a clear double standard as they often attack Israel whenever the conduct a military action against a hospital, but fail to condemn Hamas when they utilize the same hospitals to store weapons & attack Israeli forces. This is despite the fact that many, including former PA official Adnan al-Damiri, openly condemned Hamas for using hospitals for militant purposes, calling the action “immoral.” The image above shows military supplies captured from the Kamal Adwan Hospital, revealing the authenticity of the statements made by captured Hamas terrorists. All this should make the world ask some tough questions. Questions like “How can Israel defeat an enemy that doesn’t follow the rules of war, and at that same time is never condemned for it?”
Sources:
Botbol, Amelie. “Israeli Intel Indicates Hamas Held Hostages at New Gaza Hospital as UN Health Agency Criticized for Inaction.” Fox News. Jan. 21, 2025. Accessed from https://www.foxnews.com/world/israeli-intel-indicates-hamas-held-hostages-new-gaza-hospital-un-health-agency-criticized-inaction.
Knox, Bradley. “Freed Israeli Hostages Say They Were Held in UN Camp.” The Colorado Gazette. Jan. 21, 2025. Accessed from https://gazette.com/news/wex/freed-israeli-hostages-say-they-were-held-in-un-camp/article_93075a13-7d98-5763-837a-0f9e6538bf4d.html.
Shurafa, Wafaa, et al. “As Ceasefire Takes Hold, Hamas Returns 3 Israeli Hostages and Israel Frees 90
Palestinian Prisoners.” Associated Press. Jan. 20, 2025. Accessed from https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-war-news-ceasefire-hostages-01-19-2025-437f7f1bf49c9d2936718cf78bdf272c.
“Updated: List of Countries Suspending UNRWA Funding.” UNWATCH. Jan. 30, 2024. Accessed from https://unwatch.org/updated-list-of-countries-suspending-unwra-funding/.