The communications director of the UN’s Palestine relief agency UNRWA, Juliette Touma, said there is no basis for Israel’s claims that staff of the organisation are Hamas members.

“These are colleagues of ours, these are teachers, doctors, sanitation workers, support staff, the backbone of the organisation, and they have all been vetted, they all been cleared, not only by the UN,” she said, explaining that lists of UNRWA staff members are also shared with the Israeli government.

On Friday, Israel’s ambassador to the UN said that “many UNRWA workers in Gaza are themselves members of Hamas”.

Touma confirmed that more than 100 of her colleagues have been killed in Gaza since October 7.