Israel escalates its criticism of a UN agency in Gaza. It says 450 of its workers are militants

By TIA GOLDENBERG and RAVI NESSMAN
Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel has ramped up its criticism of the embattled U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees. It said Monday that 450 employees of UNRWA were members of militant groups in the Gaza Strip, though it provided no evidence to back up its accusation. Major funders have withheld hundreds of millions of dollars from the agency since Israel accused 12 of its employees of participating in the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel. The attack sparked an Israeli invasion of Gaza that aid groups say has led to a humanitarian catastrophe. UNRWA employs roughly 13,000 people in Gaza and is the biggest aid provider in the enclave.