JERUSALEM (Reuters) – A video made public by Israeli officials allegedly shows a U.N. relief worker loading the limp body of a shot Israeli man into the back of an SUV and driving away from a southern Israeli village during Hamas’ Oct. 7 cross-border attack.
The video was first reported on by the Washington Post and also shared online by Israeli officials, who identified the man as Faisal Ali Mussalem Al Naami, a social worker with the United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) in the Gaza Strip.
Israel has presented intelligence alleging some UNRWA staff took part in abductions and killings during the Oct. 7 rampage that sparked the Gaza war, prompting a cascade of countries to halt funds for the Palestinian aid agency. UNRWA denies wrongdoing, describing its role as relief only.
Jonathan Fowler, an UNRWA spokesperson, said in response to the video: “It is not possible for UNRWA to verify the footage or photographs and ascertain who the person is. We were not presented with any evidence from the Israeli authorities.”
“But given the fact that there is an investigation underway by the highest investigative authorities in the UN, we invite any country, party or institution with information – including information available in the public domain – to provide it to the Office of Internal Oversight Services at UN headquarters to help advance this investigation.”
In the CCTV footage, a white SUV drives into Kibbutz Be’eri, one of the communities hardest hit on Oct. 7. The vehicle stops in front of three bodies lying on the street and sidewalk beside an overturned picnic cooler. One man exits the car with a rifle. The driver, who is dressed in black and identified as Naami, follows.
Together they carry one of the men lying in the street by the arms and legs and stuff him into the back of the SUV. The two then briefly look through scattered belongings before reversing out of the kibbutz and driving off.
A screen shot of the video was posted on X by an Israeli military spokesperson and a clip of it was posted by a Foreign Ministry official.
Reuters had previously published the same CCTV footage from Kibbutz Be’eri, having verified the location by comparing infrastructure, layout of trees and road shape with satellite imagery and file imagery of the area. Reuters did not and could not independently verify the identities of the men in the video.
In a media briefing on Friday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant made reference to the new video and said that over 30 UNRWA workers had participated in the Oct. 7 massacre and facilitated the taking of hostages.
(Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch and Nidal al-Mughrabi; editing by Giles Elgood)
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