'Hamas commander' killed in Lebanon worked for UN agency

Fateh Al Sharif was an UNRWA employee who was put on administrative leave without pay in March and was under investigation

An Israeli air strike near Tyre, a city in southern Lebanon. AFP

The UN said on Monday that a purported Hamas commander in Lebanon killed in an Israeli strike was an employee.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees confirmed to The National that Fateh Al Sharif was placed on unpaid administrative leave in March and is under investigation following allegations related to his political activities.

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told The National that "contrary to some reports, he has not been reinstated."

"Anyone who works for the UN and engages in terror, terror-like activity is unacceptable and outrageous and an insult to all UN staff members around the world," said Mr Dujarric.

Sharif, his wife, son and daughter were killed in an air strike on Monday on Al Buss refugee camp, one of 12 camps for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, in the southern port city of Tyre.

The Israeli military announced it had “eliminated” Sharif in Lebanon, accusing him of having co-ordinated “terror activities” with Hezbollah members.

Sharif “was responsible for co-ordinating Hamas' terror activities in Lebanon with Hezbollah operatives”, the Israeli military claimed.

“He was also responsible for Hamas' efforts in Lebanon to recruit operatives and acquire weapons. He led the Hamas terrorist organisation's force build-up efforts in Lebanon and operated to advance Hamas' interests in Lebanon, both politically and militarily.”

Israel’s diplomatic mission in Geneva posted on X stating that Hamas had announced Sharif's death, saying that his “second job” was being a principal and the head of the UNRWA's teachers association in Lebanon.

“This case proves that there is a deep problem in UNRWA, the way they do due diligence about who they are hiring,” the mission said.

Israel, which has long called for the UNRWA to be dismantled, has accused the relief agency of complicity with Hamas, saying the Palestinian militant group was embedded within it.

UNRWA's chief Philippe Lazzarini told reporters in Geneva that "the specific allegation at the time was that (he was) a part of the local leadership"

"I never heard the word commander before," he said. "What's obvious for you today, was not obvious yesterday."

He said he asked member states to "push back on all the reputational attacks on the agency and the ongoing drafting of bills which could be adopted in Jerusalem", referring to a move by the Israeli parliament to declare the UN agency a "terrorist body" which has already received preliminary approval.

Several countries halted their funding to the UNRWA following accusations by Israel that some of the agency's staff were involved in the October 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel, which triggered the Gaza war.

Most donors have since resumed their funding, while the UN conducts an internal investigation.

The agency delivers essential aid and provides services to Palestinians both in the occupied territories, including Gaza, and in refugee camps abroad. The UN secretary general and others have said that there is no alternative to the UNRWA, and that the life-saving assistance it offers is needed more than ever amid the war in Gaza.