A United Nations agency has confirmed an individual described by Israel as the leader of Hamas in Lebanon was a UN employee after he was killed in an Israeli strike.
The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNWRA) said Fateh Al Sharif had been under investigation over his political activities and had been on “administrative leave” since March.
The Israeli military announced on Monday that it had “eliminated” Sharif in a strike in Lebanon, accusing him of coordinating “terror activities” with members of Hezbollah.
Hamas said Sharif was killed along with his wife, son, and daughter, in a strike that targeted their house in a Palestinian refugee camp in the southern city of Tyre in the early hours of Monday, Reuters reported.
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Both Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas, which is based in Gaza, are backed by Iran.
The two organisations are proscribed as terrorist groups by the UK and the United States.
Sharif “led the Hamas terrorist organization’s force build-up efforts in Lebanon and operated to advance Hamas’ interests in Lebanon, both politically and militarily”, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said in a statement.
Asked about claims that he worked for UNWRA, the agency said: “Fateh Al Sharif was an UNRWA employee who was put on administrative leave without pay in March, and was undergoing an investigation following allegations that UNRWA received about his political activities.”
Israel will doubtless seize on the confirmation as further evidence of links between the UN body in Gaza and Hamas.
Last year, the Israeli government accused more than a dozen of UNWRA’s Gaza employees of involvement in the 7 October atrocities.
That allegation prompted a number of countries, including the UK under the Conservatives, to suspend funding to the agency.
But in July this year, the new Labour government reinstated payments.
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In the wake of Israel’s allegations, UNRWA sacked 10 employees, while the UN’s Office of Internal Oversight launched an investigation into the claims.
In April, the body said eight staff remained under investigation, with inquiries suspended in four of the cases because of insufficient evidence.
It added it had also begun investigations into an additional seven staff members, and six of those cases were ongoing.