US government weighs levying terrorism-related sanctions against UNRWA over Hamas ties

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is engaged in advanced discussions over imposing terrorism-related sanctions on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the special agency created for Palestinian refugees, due to its ties with Hamas, Reuters reported on Thursday. 

It is not clear from the Reuters report if the U.S. government is discussing sanctions on the entire organization, or only specific UNRWA officials. 

Among the possibilities being discussed in the State Department is the designation of UNRWA as a “foreign terrorist organization” (FTO), which would be an unprecedented step against a UN body and would cause significant financial problems for the organization. 

While top UN officials have called UNRWA the backbone of the humanitarian aid program in the Gaza Strip, over the past two years, Israel has released multiple documents, often recovered from Hamas computers in Gaza or by monitoring social media accounts, demonstrating that top UNRWA officials in Gaza were members of Hamas or affiliated with the terror group.

These accusations and the evidence presented call into question the UN organization’s neutrality, and its ability to distribute humanitarian aid in an effective way. 

UNRWA is responsible for providing aid, schooling, healthcare, shelter and social services to millions of Palestinians in refugee camps in Gaza, Judea and Samaria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria. Some analysts have argued that UNRWA’s decision to maintain the refugee status of Palestinians across generations, and to actively work against attempts to integrate them into the existing populations where they live has prolonged the refugees’ suffering, as well as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

Introducing Episode #1 - UNRWA of the Deep Dive series with Dr. @EinatWilf

Dr. Einat Wilf is a former member of the Knesset and author of the best-selling book "The War of Return."

Her book can be purchased on Amazon here: https://t.co/xTWwy0xiyR#deepdive #israelicitizenspox pic.twitter.com/pkrd1msh0z

— The Spokesoffice (@Spokesoffice) May 30, 2024

Previous U.S. administrations have given significant funding to UNRWA, with Washington being the largest donor to the UN body. However, after Israel accused a little over one dozen UNRWA staff of taking part in the Oct. 7, 2023 invasion of Israel, and the accompanying massacres, the administration of President Joe Biden froze funding to the group.  

After President Trump took office in January of 2025, he reaffirmed that the U.S. would not resume funding of the UN organization, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in October of this year, said UNRWA “became a subsidiary of Hamas.” 

“The United Nations is here, they're on the ground, we're willing to work with them if they can make it work,” Rubio said during a press conference at the ceasefire headquarters in Kiryat Gat, Israel.

“But not UNRWA. UNRWA became a subsidiary of Hamas.” 

BREAKING: Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that UNRWA will have no role in aid distribution in Gaza, naming other groups that will.

“Not UNRWA, UNRWA became a subsidiary of Hamas.”

Source: Israeli Channel 11 pic.twitter.com/tlWsNFbWXr

— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) October 24, 2025

Any broad move against UNRWA, whether individual sanctions or terror designations, would likely further disrupt the agencies ability to work in the Palestinian refugee camps across the Middle East. 

William Deere, director of the UNRWA office in Washington, DC, told Reuters that a decision to declare UNRWA an FTO would be "both unprecedented and unwarranted.” 

While not actively denying UNRWA’s connections to Hamas, Deere said, "Since January 2024, four independent entities have investigated UNRWA's neutrality including the U.S. National Intelligence Council. While occurring at different times and from different perspectives, they have all come to the same conclusion: UNRWA is an indispensable, neutral, humanitarian actor.” 

In August 2024, UNRWA announced that it had completed an investigation by the Office of Internal Oversight Services into the charges brought by Israel against 19 of its employees. That probe resulted in nine dismissals of employees based on evidence that “could indicate” involvement. Another nine employees did not face dismissal as the organization said “the evidence obtained by OIOS was insufficient” to determine involvement. UNRWA also claimed that one case showed no evidence of involvement at all. 

The Israeli government released some of the evidence to social media, showing several of the UNRWA officials clearly participated in the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7.

A State Department official, who spoke to Reuters, called UNRWA a "corrupt organization with a proven track record of aiding and abetting terrorists.” 

"Everything is on the table," the official said. "No final decisions have yet been made.”