UNRWA Chief Speaks Out Against Israeli Strikes, Denies Knowledge of Employee’s Hamas Ties

UNRWA Chief Philippe Lazzarini denied awareness that its employee, Fateh Sherif Abu el-Amin, was a Hamas commander in Lebanon. Abu el-Amin was killed in an Israeli strike. Lazzarini called upon states to oppose Israeli attacks on the agency.

The UNRWA chief, Philippe Lazzarini, asserted on Monday that he was unaware of Fateh Sherif Abu el-Amin being a Hamas commander in Lebanon. Lazzarini has urged states to resist Israeli assaults on the agency.

Abu el-Amin, head of Hamas' Lebanon branch, was killed alongside family members in an Israeli attack in southern Lebanon, according to the group. He had been suspended from his UNRWA role in March due to political allegations, Lazzarini revealed in Geneva.

"I never heard the word commander before," Lazzarini emphasized. "What is evident today, was not so yesterday."

(With inputs from agencies.)