Israel escalates criticism of UN agency in Gaza

Smoke rises following an explosion in the Gaza Strip (Ohad Zwigenberg/AP)

Israel has ramped up its criticism of the embattled UN agency for Palestinian refugees, saying 450 of its employees were members of militant groups in the Gaza Strip, though it provided no evidence to back up its accusation.

Major international funders have withheld hundreds of millions of dollars from the agency, known as UNRWA, since Israel accused 12 of its employees of participating in the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel that killed 1,200 people and left about 250 others held hostage in Gaza, according to Israeli authorities.