- Fateh Sherif Abu al-Amin died in the Al-Buss refugee camp in Tyre, Lebanon
It has been revealed that the leader of Hamas in Lebanon worked for a UN refugee agency before he was killed in an Israeli attack.
Fateh Sherif Abu al-Amin was killed yesterday in the Al-Buss refugee camp in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre, in an attack by the Israeli air force.
The group said al-Amin was killed with his wife, son and daughter in what it called a “terrorist and criminal murder.”
But the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, confirmed today that Sherif He was employed as a teacher, prompting Israel to launch new accusations that he is linked to Palestinian militant groups.
UNRWA said it had placed the Hamas commander on “unpaid administrative leave” in March while it investigated allegations about his political activities, insisting that he was committed to neutrality and working to prevent any such infiltration.
Comes after UNRWA admitted in August that nine of its employees “may have been involved” in the October 7 Hamas attack.
Fateh Sharif Abu al-Amin was killed with his wife, son and daughter in what Hamas called a “terrorist and criminal murder.”
Smoke rises after an Israeli attack on a village near the southern Lebanese city of Tire on September 29, 2024.
Smoke rises after an Israeli attack on villages near the southern Lebanese city of Tire on September 29, 2024.
In a statement confirming his death, the IDF said Sherif “led the force buildup efforts of the Hamas terrorist organization in Lebanon and operated to promote Hamas’ interests in Lebanon, both politically and militarily.”
However, he was also cited as principal of UNRWA’s Deir Yassin school and leader of a prominent teachers’ union before being suspended in March.
His role as a teacher at a UN school is sure to draw even more criticism of UNRWA from Israel, which had some of its funding withdrawn from Israel’s allies after Tel Aviv claimed UNRWA employees were involved in the Hamas attacks of October 7.
In August, the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) completed its investigation into the alleged involvement of 19 UNRWA personnel in the attacks.
“OIOS reached findings in relation to each of the 19 UNRWA personnel who were allegedly involved in the attacks,” he said.
It added: ‘In one case, OIOS obtained no evidence to support allegations of the staff member’s involvement, while in nine other cases, the evidence obtained by OIOS was insufficient to support the staff member’s involvement.
“We have enough information to take the actions we are taking, namely the termination of these nine individuals.”
The UN admitted that nine employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) ‘may have been involved’ in the October 7 Hamas attack
UN spokesman Farhan Haq said: “We have enough information to take the measures we are taking, namely the dismissal of these nine individuals.”
The United Nations launched the investigation after Israel accused a dozen UNRWA staff of taking part in the Hamas-led attacks on October 7 that sparked the Gaza war.
All nine people the investigation concluded may have participated in the Oct. 7 attacks were men.
The UN spokesman did not give details of what they may have done, but said: “For us, any involvement in the attacks is a tremendous betrayal of the kind of work we are supposed to do on behalf of the Palestinian people.”
The United Nations launched the investigation after Israel accused UNRWA personnel of participating in the Hamas-led attacks on October 7 that sparked the Gaza war.
Israel escalated its accusations in March, saying that more than 450 UNRWA staff were military agents in Gaza terror groups.
UNRWA employs around 32,000 people in its area of operations, 13,000 of them in Gaza.
UNWRA said in March that some staff released in Gaza after being detained by Israel reported being pressured by Israeli authorities and that staff participated in the October 7 attacks.