Trump admin weighs terrorism sanctions against UN agency UNRWA

The Trump administration is weighing whether to pursue terrorism-related sanctions against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) as officials examine allegations that the agency has ties to Hamas and consider steps that could put more pressure on its leadership and operations, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

The UN agency provides aid, schooling, health care, shelter and social services to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria. U.N. officials have described UNRWA as the backbone of the Gaza aid effort during Israel’s two-year war with Hamas, but the Trump administration has accused the group of having ties to Hamas — an allegation the agency vehemently disputes.

Washington, once UNRWA’s largest donor, froze its funding in January 2024 after Israel accused a dozen staff members of being involved in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack that sparked the war.

In October, Secretary of State Marco Rubio called UNRWA a Hamas affiliate.

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A Palestinian boy walks near an UNRWA school housing displaced people that was hit during an overnight Israeli strike, in Gaza City, July 5, 2025. (Dawoud Abou Alkas/Reuters)

“UNRWA will play no role in this matter,” Rubio said at the time when asked if the agency would help deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza. “The United Nations is there. They are on the ground. We are willing to work with them if they can make this work, but not UNRWA. UNRWA has become an affiliate of Hamas.”

Reuters reported that it was unclear whether recent internal discussions focused on sanctioning the entire agency or specific officials or operations, and that U.S. officials had not yet decided what type of sanctions they might pursue.

The sources said the State Department had considered declaring UNRWA a “foreign terrorist organization,” or FTO — a move that would financially isolate the agency.

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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared in October 2025 that UNRWA had become an affiliate of Hamas. (Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Any major measures against UNRWA could disrupt aid to refugees in the region, with the agency already facing a serious funding crisis. Such sanctions would be highly unusual, since the United States is both a member of the UN and host country to the body that created the agency in 1949.

William Deere, who heads UNRWA’s Washington office, said the organization would be “disappointed” if officials discussed an FTO designation, calling such a move “unprecedented and unwarranted.”

He pointed to several investigations – including one by the US National Intelligence Council – which concluded that UNRWA remained a neutral and essential humanitarian actor.

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United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) building in Gaza, June 2023. (Ahmed Zakot/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

The White House and State Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. The United States and Israel have maintained tough stances toward the agency, particularly following the October 7, 2023, massacre.

President Donald Trump reaffirmed in February that the United States would not fund UNRWA. In the executive order, Trump said that “UNRWA was allegedly infiltrated by members of groups long designated by the Secretary of State as foreign terrorist organizations, and that UNRWA employees were allegedly involved in the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.”

When the International Court of Justice (ICJ) demanded in April 2025 that Israel work with UNRWA, Washington supported Israel, saying it was not obligated to work with the agency and that it had “many reasons to question UNRWA’s impartiality.”

UNRWA announced in August 2024 the end of an investigation by the Office of Internal Oversight Services to determine whether its personnel had participated in the attacks, as Israel claimed.

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The investigation examined 19 employees and resulted in nine terminations due to evidence that “may indicate” involvement. The investigation found one case with no evidence of involvement and nine others in which “evidence obtained by OIOS was insufficient” to prove participation, the agency said.

Fox News Digital’s Rachel Wolf and Reuters contributed to this report.