UN Chief Antonio Guterres announces independent panel to assess UNRWA

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has announced an independent panel to assess the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), according to a report.

The agency has come under scrutiny following allegations by Israel that 12 of its employees were involved in the 7 October Hamas attacks on Israel. Consequently, funding for the agency has been suspended by more than a dozen nations, including the US, Germany, the UK, and Sweden.

According to Al Jazeera, citing UN in a statement, Catherine Colonna, a former French foreign minister, will lead the independent panel, which will collaborate with three European research organisations.

Assessing "whether the agency is doing everything within its power to ensure neutrality and to respond to allegations of serious breaches when they are made" is the investigation's stated objective, added the report.

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The panel's reports, which include recommendations for potential "improvement and strengthening" of the agency's systems, are due to Guterres in late March for the interim report and late April for the final one, Al Jazeera reported.

This evaluation is not related to the UN's internal investigation, which was started last month following the initial allegations against the 12 UNRWA employees.

Notably, the war between Israel and Hamas began after the latter launched an attack on the former on October 7, where around 1,200 Israelis were killed and around 250 taken hostage.

Israel then launched a counterattack on Hamas and vowed to eliminate the terrorist group. In the latest development in the ongoing war, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said on Sunday that IDF soldiers operated within a compound in Khan Younis and located AK-47 rifles, ammunition, military equipment, and technological assets.

In addition, IDF troops also located RPGs inside terrorist's residences.

With inputs from agencies