UN boss vows prosecution for any UNRWA workers linked to October 7 attacks

UN Secretary General António Guterres has promised legal consequences following allegations that employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) were involved in the attacks on Israel on October 7.

"Any UN employee involved in acts of terror will be held accountable, including through criminal prosecution," he said on Sunday, according to a statement from the United Nations.

An investigation by the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services has been launched.

UNRWA has come under massive pressure due to the alleged involvement of 12 of its several thousand employees in unprecedented attack by Hamas on October 7.

Some 1,200 people were killed in Israeli communities and at a music festival near the Gaza border. Over 240 were taken hostage, some of whom have since been released.

Germany and eight other countries announced that they would suspend their payments to the aid organization in the Gaza Strip for the time being.

Guterres said that nine of the 12 accused had been identified and their employment immediately terminated. One employee was declared dead and the identity of the other two was currently being clarified.

"The abhorrent alleged acts of these staff members must have consequences," he said.

Guterres appealed to the states that have suspended their contributions to ensure the continuity of UNRWA's work.

"The tens of thousands of men and women who work for UNRWA, many in some of the most dangerous situations for humanitarian workers, should not be penalized. The dire needs of the desperate populations they serve must be met," he said.

On the ground in Gaza, meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported "intensive fighting" in the region around Khan Younis in the south of the Gaza Strip.

The troops had "found large quantities of weapons," the IDF posted on X.

The fighting has led to thousands of civilians fleeing the city in the direction of Rafah on strip's southern border with Egypt.

An Israeli military spokesman issued a renewed call in Arabic on people living in certain parts of Khan Younis to leave for a designated zone on the Mediterranean coast.

He detailed three four-hour "tactical" pauses in Israel's operations on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, during which people in Rafah would be move around and secure provisions.

At least 165 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip within 24 hours, according to the Hamas-controlled health authority.

This brings the number of Palestinians killed in the coastal strip since the start of the war on October 7 to at least 26,422.

The figures could not be independently verified.

Talks to secure a ceasefire and the release of the remaining Israeli hostages are due to take place in Paris on Sunday, according to the New York Times.

US negotiators have drawn up a draft based on proposals from Israel and the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, which will be discussed this Sunday in Paris, the newspaper reported overnight.

Citing US government circles, the NYT said the deal could involve Hamas releasing more than 100 hostages in return for Israel ceasing its military operations in the Gaza Strip for around two months.

Compared to the seven-day ceasefire in November, during which hostages and Palestinians imprisoned in Israel were exchanged, hostilities would now be suspended for much longer.