Famine in Gaza Is A Political Act of Violence and Genocide

Here is an examination of which counties have cut funding to UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, despite the fact, that as Danny Glenwright Executive Director and President of Save the Children Canada, said on CBC News Network's Power and Politics today, that "80% of aid in Gaza is provided by UNRWA. Simply put, no other organization, inlcuding ourselves, can do that job." Furthermore, twenty other aid organizations are warning that no other organization can take over the aid work done by UNRWA in Gaza and the West Bank. With funding for UNRWA running out by the end of February, according to UNRWA itself, Gaza, which is already seeing famine and could face full famine across Gaza within a month because of many Western countries cutting off funding because of these allegations. "More than half a million people in Gaza are currently facing "catastrophic hunger" amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, according to multiple United Nations organizations." (https://abcnews.go.com/International/500000-people-gaza-face-catastrophi....) The only possible outcome if funding is not immediately restored is since "570,000 Gazans are classified as having food insecurity equivalent to famine levels of starvation" (https://abcnews.go.com/International/500000-people-gaza-face-catastrophi....), starvation will soon kill more people than all the Israeli bombs. These nations, including Canada, the US, Britain and at least seven others could therefore be involved in genocide if this occurs.

Gunness, the former UNRWA spokesman, said there is a “coordinated political attack” on the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees.

“The Israelis have said they cannot win the war on Gaza unless UNRWA is disbanded. So what clearer signal do you want?” he told Al Jazeera on Sunday.

(Al Jazeera)

How crucial is UNRWA and what did UN officials say?

The UNRWA is the largest humanitarian actor in Gaza and some 3,000 of its core staff out of 13,000 in Gaza continue to report to work despite the war, according to the agency.

UNRWA’s Lazzarini said two million people out of about 2.3 million population in Gaza depend on the agency’s humanitarian operation.

“I am shocked such decisions are taken based on alleged behavior of a few individuals and as the war continues, needs are deepening & famine looms,” the UNRWA chief posted on X.

“Palestinians in Gaza did not need this additional collective punishment. This stains all of us.”

The UN official added that the agency runs shelters for over one million people and provides food and primary healthcare even at the height of the hostilities.

Meanwhile, UN chief Antonio Guterres said that the tens of thousands of people who work for the UNRWA, many in some of the most dangerous situations, should not be penalised because of the recent allegations. “The dire needs of the desperate populations they serve must be met,” he said.

Which nations have cut funding for UNRWA? Which have not?

The wave of suspensions of funding started with the US on Friday, right after the investigation was announced.

Canada, Australia, Britain, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Finland, Estonia, Japan, Austria and Romania joined Washington as of Monday.

Meanwhile, the French foreign ministry announced that France has not planned a new payment to fund UNRWA in the first quarter of 2024, but would decide when the time comes what action to take in conjunction with the United Nations and its main donors.

The European Union (EU) announced on Monday that it would review whether it could continue to fund UNRWA in light of the allegations.

The EU’s executive arm, the European Commission announced that the body does not foresee any additional funding for the organisation until the end of February.

Ireland and Norway, however, expressed continued support for UNRWA, saying the agency does crucial work to help Palestinians displaced and in desperate need of assistance in Gaza.

“We need to distinguish between what individuals may have done, and what UNRWA stands for,” a statement by Norway’s government said, adding the organisation’s tens of thousands of employees in Gaza, the West Bank, and the region play a “crucial role” in distributing aid, saving lives, and safeguarding basic needs and rights.

Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin wrote on X: “Ireland has no plans to suspend funding for UNRWA’s vital Gaza work.”

Spanish daily, El País, reported on Monday that Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said Spain would continue funding UNRWA. He asserted that while Spain is closely following the investigation into Israel’s claims, the accused are 12 individuals out of a total of around 30,000 UNRWA employees.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/28/which-countries-have-cut-fundin...

American Senators Jeff Merkley and Chris Van Hollen have just released a report on the Gazan people who they describe as being "on the verge of starvation" after a trip to the Rafah Gaza border crossing with Egypt. They also describe how Israel has slowed the entry of food aid to a crawl and refused entry to items, such as maternity kits and water purifiers as well as many others, that could never be considered usable for military operations, thereby increasing the risk of famine. Below is their report:

“The humanitarian disaster in Gaza is worsening by the day. Innocent Palestinians are on the verge of starvation, injured children are having their limbs amputated without anesthesia, sewage is spilling onto the streets, and health officials are warning of the imminent outbreak of cholera and other diseases. Over one million displaced people have been crammed, without adequate shelter, into the southernmost city of Rafah – on top of the approximately 280,000 Gazans already living there. Hundreds of thousands of others are trapped in northern Gaza, cut off from essential lifelines. This catastrophic situation is entirely man-made, and it must end.

“Last week, we visited the Rafah crossing and also met with dozens of individuals and organizations who have decades of experience providing humanitarian relief in conflict zones around the world — from Syria to Yemen to Ukraine to Sudan to Burma. They told us they have never witnessed a humanitarian disaster of the scale and severity we see in Gaza today. The overwhelming sentiment was one of extreme frustration at the inability to do their jobs. Humanitarian workers are ready to meet the challenge of saving lives as they have in other crises, but the unique restrictions they are facing in Gaza are preventing them from doing so. 

“Urgent steps are required to expedite the safe and unhindered delivery of assistance to those in need. We call on the Netanyahu government in Israel to implement three changes immediately: 1) streamline the system through which humanitarian aid is screened and transported into Gaza; 2) resume the regular flow of essential commercial goods into Gaza in order to restock stores with food and other vital items; and 3) fix the broken ‘deconfliction’ process inside Gaza to ensure humanitarian organizations – including their operating sites and their workers’ movements – are safe as they conduct their life-saving missions. It is unacceptable that hundreds of health and humanitarian workers have died while providing assistance in Gaza.

“To be sure, there is much room to improve the logistics for the delivery of goods from the Egyptian side of the border and other parts of the humanitarian supply chain; however, it is clear from what we witnessed, and the first-hand accounts that we heard, that decisions made by the Netanyahu government have erected a variety of barriers that are preventing the delivery of sufficient life-sustaining goods from reaching innocent Palestinians in Gaza.

“Following Hamas’ horrific attack on Israeli villages that killed more than 1200 Israelis, Israel has every right to eliminate the military threat of Hamas. But the way in which they do so matters. Despite repeated entreaties from the President Biden and members of his administration, the world continues to witness a worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza and unacceptably high levels of civilian casualties. Today, over 23,000 Palestinians have been killed, two-thirds of them women and children. We believe that a humanitarian cessation of hostilities is required to address the suffering of innocents and focus on the release of the hostages. Until then, it is imperative that the United States government demand that the Netanyahu government lift the impediments to the delivery of basic goods needed to sustain life in Gaza. In the coming days, we will continue to share and seek implementation of the specific changes that are necessary to achieve this.”

The Senators’ congressional delegation (CODEL), which focused on the conflict in Gaza and delivery of humanitarian aid, began in Egypt with meetings with President Al-Sisi and Foreign Minister Shoukry. That day, the Senators also met with the U.S. Ambassador to Egypt Herro Mustafa Garg, members of the U.S. Embassy team in Egypt, and the Secretary General of the Arab League Aboul Gheit. The next day, the Senators traveled to Al-Arish, a staging point for aid to Gaza located in northern Sinai and then visited the Rafah crossing, the first U.S. lawmakers to do so. During their time at Al-Arish and the Rafah crossing, the Senators met with the humanitarian aid teams on the ground providing relief to Gaza, including members of UNRWA, the World Food Program, and the Egyptian Red Crescent, and toured the warehouses currently holding aid packages and rejected aid. At Rafah, the Senators met with U.S. consular staff and spoke with many who had just crossed over from Gaza, including a Palestinian family, international medical professionals, humanitarian workers, and a truck driver waiting to go through the crossing. Their last day in Egypt, the Senators received briefings from the U.N. agencies providing assistance in Gaza, including OCHA, WFP, UNICEF, WHO, and UNRWA, as well as nonprofit organizations working to assist Palestinians in Gaza, including Catholic Relief Services, Mercy Corps, Save the Children, MED Global Empowerment Mission, CARE USA, and Anera. Finally, in Egypt, the Senators met with Multilateral Force and Observers Representative Bradley Lynch. The Senators then traveled to Jordan where they met with King Abdullah II and Foreign Minister Safadi as well as the U.S. Ambassador to Jordan Yael Lempert and the U.S. Embassy Jordan team. They also visited a project of the Queen Rania Foundation and met with U.N. agencies in Jordan, including UNRWA Director General Philippe Lazzarini and U.N. Resident Coordinator Sheri Ritsema-Anderson.

https://www.vanhollen.senate.gov/news/press-releases/van-hollen-merkley-...

Paladin, Hamas cannot feed the Gazans because the Israelis originally blocked the entry of food and other vital supplies and even on the best of days and certainly not always, are allowing only a quarter of the needed supplies of food and medicine. "Israel’s blockade of food and attacks on Gaza’s food system is so severe that Palestinians in Gaza are at severe risk of starving to death while humanitarian aid trucks “filled with food” sit just across the border awaiting entry, the head of the World Food Program has warned." (https://truthout.org/articles/israel-forcing-palestinians-to-starve-just...) So Israel is causing the famine, not Hamas. But, I am sure you know this. 

Thus there is no doubt that the famine was created by the Israelis and, like the Americans in Afghanistan and Iraq, where the Americans basically had to leave Afghanistan after 20 years and in the process of having the same thing happen in Iraq, this war and famine will only create more enemies for Israelis in the long run, thereby further endangering Israel. But Netanyahu doesn't give a damn because he knows the moment the war is over, he is finished because the funding of Hamas by him to scare the Israelis away from agreeing to a two state solution has created October 7th and the Gaza catastrophe. He was also the one who called Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin a "traitor" and "Nazi" because he reached a peace agreement with the PLO, in addition to participating in the mock funeral of Rabin in the 1990s to precipitate his assassination (see article below) and has sabotaged every attempt at reaching peace since then.

Guerilla decolonization movements, as Henry Kissinger said, win if they don't lose. Every such movement since Michael Collins took on the British Empire that ruled one quarter of the world in an empire where the sun never set a century ago has won their independence in the long run, including those occupying powers that used famine as part of their strategy: Ireland, India, Kenya, Libya, Ethiopia, Algeria where the French killed a million people before giving up, Vietnam where the American war killed millions, Cambodia, Laos, Kenya, South Africa, Mozambique, Angola, etc., etc, typically with the independence movement being accepted as the government by the rest of the world after decades of calling them "terrorists". The one cited exception, which was not an exception at all, was Malaysia, where the British defeated the Communist guerillas only by agreeing to give Malaysia independence within a year.

By the way, Israel itself had two terrorist leaders be elected Prime Minister: Menachem Begin, leader of the Irgun, and Yitzak Shamir, leader of the Stern gang who even murdered the UN representative Folke Bernadotte who drew up a peace deal, and who was a leader of "the 1948 Deir Yassin massacre ... [that] killed at least 107 Palestinian Arab villagers". He also "sought an alliance with Fascist Italyand Nazi Germany during WWII (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yitzhak_Shamir). So Israel is itself quite selective in who it calls a terrorist. The first Israeli government created Gaza by using terror to force Palestinians out of Israel during the Nakba.(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nakba).   Even if Hamas is wiped out, which is highly unlikely although it has been degraded, we have seen that decades and decades of resisting the creation of an independent state only end in failure because that idea will live on and the deaths of many thousands and sometimes millions to stop it will be for nothing. In other words, this war and this famine will be a futile effort, with a totally unnecessary death toll, to stop what is inevitable in the long run.
The only alternative is to exterminate all Palestinians, because, as seen in previous independence struggles, the slaughter of the colonized only creates more people willing to fight for independence. And this alternative is called genocide. Hopefully, the rest of the world will prevent that from happening if Israel and the US continue down that path. 

“Yitzhak Rabin was murdered in a political assassination. He was murdered in a political assassination with the cooperation of Benjamin Netanyahu and [Itamar] Ben Gvir,” Michaeli said.

Labor party chief Merav Michaeli on Thursday accused opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu of being complicit in the assassination of former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin.

Speaking at a conference organized by the Yisrael Hayom newspaper ahead of Saturday night’s memorial ceremony marking 27 years since the 1995 assassination, Michaeli also singled out Religious Zionism-Otzma Yehudit’s MK Itamar Ben Gvir.

Netanyahu has been repeatedly accused by the left over the years of encouraging incitement that led to Rabin’s killing, or at the very least of contributing to the incendiary political climate that led to the murder. He has rejected such claims as “attempts to distort the historical truth.”

Ben Gvir, the rising star of the current election campaign, whose Religious Zionism party is seen heading for some 14 seats in the 120-member Knesset, first captured national attention when he was filmed as a teen boasting about stealing an emblem from Rabin’s car a short time before the assassination. “We got to his car, and we’ll get to him, too,” he told a reporter at the time in televised comments. ...

Rabin was murdered on November 4, 1995, by Yigal Amir, an extremist Jew, who was opposed to the Oslo Accords and the handing over of control of parts of the West Bank to the Palestinians as a part of a landmark peace agreement.

In the weeks before the assassination, Netanyahu, then head of the opposition, and other senior Likud members attended a right-wing political rally in Jerusalem where protesters branded Rabin a “traitor,” “murderer,” and “Nazi” for signing a peace agreement with the Palestinians earlier that year. He also marched in a Ra’anana protest as demonstrators behind him carried a mock coffin.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/labor-chief-michaeli-rabin-was-assassinate...

Under international law, namely Article 55 of the Geneva Conventions, the occupying power, Israel in this case, is "has the duty of ensuring the food and medical supplies of the population".
Therefore, Israel in restricting the food and medical supplies from entering Gaza is committing a war crime, and because this is turning into famine is now committing genocide. Below is Article 55 of the Geneva Conventions: 

Article 55

To the fullest extent of the means available to it, the Occupying Power has the duty of ensuring the food and medical supplies of the population; it should, in particular, bring in the necessary foodstuffs, medical stores and other articles if the resources of the occupied territory are inadequate.

The Occupying Power may not requisition foodstuffs, articles or medical supplies available in the occupied territory, except for use by the occupation forces and administration personnel, and then only if the requirements of the civilian population have been taken into account.

https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/g-3/page-5.html#:~:text=Article....

Under international law, all of those problems are Israel's problems to deal with as the occupying power and Israel is failing its legal requirements in every respect. Under Article 55 of the Geneva Conventions, the occupying power, Israel in this case, is "has the duty of ensuring the food and medical supplies of the population".
Therefore, Israel in restricting the food and medical supplies from entering Gaza is committing a war crime, and because this is turning into famine is now committing genocide. Below is Article 55 of the Geneva Conventions: 

Article 55

To the fullest extent of the means available to it, the Occupying Power has the duty of ensuring the food and medical supplies of the population; it should, in particular, bring in the necessary foodstuffs, medical stores and other articles if the resources of the occupied territory are inadequate.

The Occupying Power may not requisition foodstuffs, articles or medical supplies available in the occupied territory, except for use by the occupation forces and administration personnel, and then only if the requirements of the civilian population have been taken into account.

https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/g-3/page-5.html#:~:text=Article....

The problem with Egypt accepting the Gazans is that would be a second Naqba (the first being the removal by the Israelis of a majority of Palestinians (more than 700,000) from Israeli during 1947-48 thereby changing the region now called Israel from a majority Palestinian to a majority Jewish state, resulting in 70% of Gazans being the survivors or desendants of Naqba). Once the Palestinians were removed in the first Naqba through a campaign of terror, Israel has refused them the right to return, even as part of the Oslo Accord agreement. After the Israelis told the Gazans to move to the centre of Gaza to avoid the bombing, the Israelis bombed the centre of Gaza; then the Israelis told the Gazans to move to the coast, which the Israelis then bombed; then the Israelis told the Gazans to move to Rafah to be safe on the Egyptian border, which the Israelis are now bombing. It is obvious that they want to repeat Naqba and drive all Gazans out of Gaza to never return. It is hardly surprising that Egypt wants no part of this removal. Removing a group of people from their homeland is an act of genocide, as is the creation of the famine in Gaza. You can also be sure that every other rogue state wishing to remove a minority or even a majority, as occurred in Israel in 1947-48, will take the removal of Gazans from their homeland as a sign that they can do the same with impunity, leading to even more such genocides.
What is happening in Gaza is also a form of anti-Palestinian racism, which is described in the article from the Canadian Journal for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) below:

Anti-Palestinian racism is a form of anti-Arab racism that silences, excludes, erases, stereotypes, defames or dehumanizes Palestinians or their narratives. Anti-Palestinian racism takes various forms including:

• denying the Nakba and justifying violence against Palestinians; 
• failing to acknowledge Palestinians as an Indigenous people with a collective identity, belonging and rights in relation to occupied and historic Palestine; 
• erasing the human rights and equal dignity and worth of Palestinians; 
• excluding or pressuring others to exclude Palestinian perspectives, Palestinians and their allies; 
• defaming Palestinians and their allies with slander such as being inherently antisemitic, a terrorist threat/sympathizer or opposed to democratic values.[1]

In practice, most people will use the above as a “definition” for anti-Palestinian racism, even though the ACLA has important reasons for considering it only a “description” or “framework.”[2]

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO DEFINE ANTI-PALESTINIAN RACISM?

A definition of anti-Palestinian racism provides a useful tool to accurately describe the discrimination and struggles faced by Palestinians and their allies. Using it, Palestinians and their advocates can more easily identify the unjust, dehumanizing, exclusionary and discriminatory experiences they may encounter, as well as validate the harm caused by it.[3]

Anti-Palestinian racism effects one’s ability to have open discussion on Palestinian rights because it positions Palestinian solidarity as something that is socially unacceptable.[4] For example, people may be reluctant to participate in Palestine solidarity events due to the fear of being targeted for such involvement. The fear of retribution contributes to the suppression of Palestinian narratives by deterring people from speaking out in defence of Palestinian rights.[5]

Another major impact of anti-Palestinian racism is the harm and trauma caused by the targeting of a racial identity. Anti-Palestinian racism intensifies the anxiety of being Palestinian and can lead Palestinians to hide their identity for fear of being persecuted.[6] This can have serious consequences, potentially resulting in isolation, depression and other mental health issues.[7]

The definition of anti-Palestinian racism is meant to address the censorship and personal harm caused by it, not prevent discussions on Palestine-Israel.[8] The definition provides a framework Palestinians and their allies can use to address incidents of anti-Palestinian racism, enabling more productive discussions on the issue of Palestine-Israel, and avoiding attacks on the identities of those involved.[9]

WHAT ARE EXAMPLES OF ANTI-PALESTINIAN RACISM?

The ACLA gives a non-exhaustive list of examples in their report, namely: Nakba denial, the justification of violence against Palestinians, failing to recognize the indigeneity of Palestinians, erasing the human dignity of Palestinians, excluding Palestinians and allies, and attempting to defame them.[10] Often, a single real-life instance of anti-Palestinian racism will touch on many of the listed examples due to their intersections.

Real-life examples of anti-Palestinian racism include: the CBC reprimanding journalists after they signed an open letter calling for better reporting on Palestine,[11] a children’s book being taken off the shelves at Indigo Books for featuring a map labeled “Palestine” instead of “Israel,”[12] Postmedia apologising after it featured an Amnesty International advertisement that included a 15 year old Palestinian journalist,[13] and the censorship of an article on Palestinian perspectives in a Saskatoon student newspaper.[14]

WHO IS AFFECTED BY ANTI-PALESTINIAN RACISM?

The primary targets of anti-Palestinian racism are Palestinians, and in Canada, Palestinian-Canadians.  Yet anti-Palestinian racism affects many more in addition to this core. It impacts those who are perceived to be Palestinian, perhaps because of their skin tone, their ethnicity, or their religion.[15] It also impacts those who simply express support for Palestinian rights. In the example above, the CBC reprimanded journalists from a variety of ethnic backgrounds for their decision to sign the open letter, demonstrating that while Palestinian identity is always at the core of anti-Palestinian racism, it does not only affect Palestinians. 

While non-Palestinians can be targeted by anti-Palestinian racism, the attack still targets the Palestinian identity and experience, and not the identity of the ally. Regardless of whether a Palestinian or an ally is the focus, every case of anti-Palestinian racism ultimately targets Palestinians.  Ultimately, such racism entrenches the systemic oppression of Palestinians as an indigenous people whose lands have been taken and occupied by settlers.[16]

It should be noted that anti-Palestinian racism doesn’t always affect everyone in the same way. The ACLA’s report acknowledges that advocates and Palestinians who are affected by other, distinct forms of systemic oppression are affected by anti-Palestinian racism in different ways, depending on their identity.[17] For example, anti-Palestinian racism directed at a woman may evoke elements of gender-based discrimination specific to women, in addition to what the individual may also face as a Palestinian.

HOW DOES ANTI-PALESTINIAN RACISM RELATE TO ANTI-ARAB RACISM AND ISLAMOPHOBIA?

Anti-Palestinian racism is distinct from both anti-Arab racism and Islamophobia, although individuals can simultaneously be the target of one or more of these forms of discrimination. 

Palestinians are Arabs, so they often suffer discrimination in Canada for being Arabs, e.g. if they have an Arab-sounding name, if they have an Arab accent in English or French, if they use ethnic dress, etc.  But in addition to this, they also face anti-Palestinian discrimination. For example, they may be “shut down” when they talk about their family’s place of origin, or their views in support of Palestinian rights– as per the definition of anti-Palestinian racism.[18]

Religiously, Palestinians are predominantly Muslim, Christian and Druze. Although a strong majority of Palestinians are Muslim, a disproportionate number of Palestinians in Canada are Christian.[19] Nevertheless, many Canadians mistakenly assume that all Palestinians are Muslim.  As such, Palestinians in Canada – even the Christian and Druze ones – frequently face Islamophobia, whether because of their name, their place of origin, their cultural habits, etc. But again, Palestinians will face anti-Palestinian racism in addition to any racism they face because they are Muslim, or perceived as Muslim.

Using Islamophobia as a proxy for anti-Palestinian racism is extremely misguided and unhelpful.[20] First, this strategy assumes that the only discrimination faced by Palestinians is Islamophobia, when of course Palestinians face additional insidious forms of discrimination as Palestinians.[21]  Second, this approach suggests that the Palestinian struggle is a global, religious-based struggle between Muslims and Jews rather than a regional Palestinian struggle against oppression and colonialism.[22] Both of these shortcomings misrepresent or ignore the destructive impacts of anti-Palestinian racism, and contribute to the broader suppression of Palestinian identity and narratives.

https://www.cjpme.org/fs_227

"The government of Canada did not see any evidence backing up Israel's claim that staff employed by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) colluded with Hamas before suspending funding to the agency, CBC News has learned." Canadian officials now admit that, despite cutting off the funding of UNRWA because of Israeli accusations that 12 members of UNRWA out of 12,000 UNRWA workers allegedly were involved in the October 7th attack, they have not seen any evidence supporting this. Since "80% of aid in Gaza is provided by UNRWA. Simply put, no other organization, inlcuding ourselves, can do that job", according to Danny Glenwright Executive Director and President of Save the Children Canada, to which 20 other aid agencies agree, Canada is therefore complicit in contributing to the famine in Gaza and seems to be complicit in Israel's use of its UNRWA accusations to distract from the fact that the International Court of Justice's finding the previous day that Israel is committing "plausible genocide". Besides Canada's CBC, Britain's Channel 4 an Sky TV, as well as France 24 reach the same conclusion that the Israeli documents do "not provide the information or documents it mentions to substantiate those claims". France 24 also compares the Israeli document "to the notorious "dodgy dossier" of intelligence claims about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction that led the U.K. government to join the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003.

The government of Canada did not see any evidence backing up Israel's claim that staff employed by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) colluded with Hamas before suspending funding to the agency, CBC News has learned.

Government sources tell CBC that Israel still has not shared evidence with Canada to substantiate its claim that 12 employees of UNRWA were involved in some capacity in the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas and the affiliated group Islamic Jihad.

Around 1,200 people were killed in Israel on Oct. 7 during Hamas-led attacks, including several Canadians; Israeli officials said 253 others were taken hostage, with about 130 yet to return home. Palestinian officials say more than 27,000 people have been killed in the Israeli military response to the Hamas-led attacks.

Britain's Channel Four News earlier this week obtained a copy of a dossier that the government of Israel shared with the U.K. government, which also cut funding to UNRWA. Channel Four reported that the dossier was only six pages long. The news service said it rehashes long-standing Israeli government complaints about UNRWA and alleges the involvement of UNRWA staff in the Oct 7 attack, but "provides no evidence" to back up Israel's explosive allegations against the agency. 

Britain's Sky News also reviewed the dossier and reached a similar conclusion: "The Israeli intelligence documents make several claims that Sky News has not seen proof of and many of the claims, even if true, do not directly implicate UNRWA," the news channel reported. The report includes photographs of 12 UNRWA employees it claims were involved, but does not provide the information or documents it mentions to substantiate those claims, Channel Four reported.

French public broadcaster France 24 also had access to the Israeli report, which it compared to the notorious "dodgy dossier" of intelligence claims about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction that led the U.K. government to join the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/unrwa-hamas-gaza-canada-1.7107785#:~:te....