WASHINGTON: Trump administration officials have been engaged in advanced internal discussions about imposing terrorism-related sanctions on the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), according to two sources familiar with the talks.
UNRWA operates across Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, providing education, health care, food aid, social services and shelter to millions of Palestinian refugees. The UN and Security Council have called the agency essential to the humanitarian response in Gaza, where a two-year war between Israel and Hamas has created a severe crisis.
The Trump administration has long accused the agency of links to Hamas allegations UNRWA firmly rejects.
The US, once UNRWA’s largest donor, cut funding in January 2024 after Israel claimed roughly a dozen UNRWA employees participated in the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack. In October, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused the agency of effectively operating as “a subsidiary of Hamas.”
It remains unclear whether the US may target the entire agency or limit sanctions to specific officials or branches. Options under discussion include designating UNRWA as a “foreign terrorist organization” (FTO), one of Washington’s harshest sanctions tools though it is not known if this remains under serious consideration. Any broad designation could severely disrupt refugee aid efforts and destabilize UNRWA as it struggles with a major funding shortfall.
UNRWA’s Washington director William Deere said the agency would be “disappointed” if an FTO label was being considered, calling such a step “unprecedented and unwarranted.” Deere noted that four independent investigations since early 2024 including one by the US National Intelligence Council concluded that UNRWA remains a neutral and essential humanitarian body.
A State Department official, however, described UNRWA as “corrupt” and accused it of supporting terrorists, saying all options remain open and no final decisions have been made. The White House has not commented.
Dozens of close US allies fund UNRWA, raising concern that they too could be affected if the organization or its officials are sanctioned. The UN has acknowledged that nine former UNRWA staff may have been involved in the Oct. 7 attack and were dismissed, and that a Hamas commander killed in Lebanon once held an UNRWA job. The UN says it is investigating all allegations and still awaits evidence from Israel.
The internal US discussions have sparked pushback from career State Department staff, including legal experts drafting possible sanctions language. Politically appointed officials have largely driven the effort. Recently, the issue has been examined within the State Department’s Counterterrorism Bureau and Policy Planning Staff.
Gregory LoGerfo, nominated to lead counterterrorism efforts, has recused himself until confirmed.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long called for UNRWA’s dismantling, accusing it of anti-Israel bias. Since Jan. 30, Israel has barred the agency from operating on Israeli-controlled territory, including East Jerusalem.
Although Israel and Hamas signed a US-brokered peace deal in October, ceasefire violations continue and implementation of the agreement has been slow. UNRWA says more than 370 of its employees have been killed during the Gaza war.
