Fears of attack on Israel from two fronts
UN aid staff ‘played part in October 7’
UN investigated claims
NINE workers at the UN’S aid agency for Palestinian refugees have been fired after an investigation found they may have been involved in Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel.
The possible involvement of some UNRWA workers has been investigated since January, when Israel raised the claims against the aid agency.
The UN’S Office of Internal Oversight Services said it found sufficient evidence pointing to nine employees’ potential involvement in the attack, when Hamas militants entered southern Israel, killing 1,189 people and taking 250 hostages.
EVIDENCE
The investigators reviewed internal UNRWA information, including staff records, emails and other communications data.
The UN watchdog said it also drew on evidence provided by Israeli authorities but, as it didn’t get direct access to it, the agency could not corroborate the claims independently.
UNRWA has been the main agency distributing aid to Palestinians in Gaza during the 10-month war.
The UNRWA – which denies collaborating with Hamas – said that 200 of its staff have been killed.
THE Middle East is braced for an “imminent” attack on Israel by Iran amid fears it could be deadlier than previously feared.
US intelligence has warned Tel Aviv that Tehran may be planning a “double-tap” onslaught, with missile barrages fired from both Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Hezbollah’s Tehran backers could try to overwhelm Israel’s air defence system to hit cities such as Tel Aviv.
The strike is being planned as revenge for a suspected Israeli blast last week in Tehran which killed visiting Hamas official Ismail Haniyeh.
Iran officials have warned for days that the attack is coming, raising fears of all-out war in the
Middle East. It is also thought Israel’s war cabinet is considering a major pre-emptive strike against Hezbollah and possibly Iran if it detects preparations for large-scale missile strikes.
President Joe Biden has been told by US intelligence that there will be two waves of attacks, one by Hezbollah from Lebanon, and one by Iran and the terrorist organisations which it supports.
Hezbollah may plan to carry out ground assaults across Israel’s border, spearheaded by its 2,500strong crack Radwan unit.
A further 50,000 regular Hezbollah fighters are believed to be ready.
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the Biden administration had told Iran that the US
EU’S Josep Fontelles would defend Israel it was attacked.
He said: “We do not think such an attack is inevitable but we are trying to prevent it.”
US fighter jets are believed to be moving forward in the region to help Israel defend itself and protect US bases.
The al-asad US base in Iraq was hit by two rockets fired by suspected Iran-backed militia on Monday night, injuring several soldiers.
The EU’S representative for foreign affairs and security policy Josep Borrell Fontelles said tension had brought the region to “the brink of a war of unknown proportions”.
He said: “All those standing in the way of de-escalation shall be held accountable. We all must prevent
if another catastrophe. The way forward is largely consensual: ceasefire in Gaza, now.”
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has admitted Israel is already in a “multifront war” with Iran and its proxies.
The Palestinian death toll from Israel’s war in Gaza last night reached 39,653, according to officials.
On Monday, Israeli fire during military raids in the occupied West Bank killed 10 Palestinians.
An air strike on a village in southern Lebanon also killed four people.
Hezbollah responded with a drone attack on northern Israel that wounded at least seven people.
The way forward is largely a consensual ceasefire in Gaza now JOSEP FONTELLES