The US State Department on Wednesday condemned a ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that Israel must facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip through UN agencies, including UNRWA, even though UNRWA has been compromised by the Hamas terrorist organization.
In a statement, the State Department said, “Another corrupt ruling by the ICJ.”
“As President Trump and Secretary Rubio work tirelessly to bring peace to the region, this so-called ‘court’ issues a nakedly politicized non-binding ‘advisory opinion’, unfairly bashes Israel and gives UNRWA a free pass for its deep entanglement with and material support for Hamas terrorism,” it added.
“This ICJ's ongoing abuse of its advisory opinion discretion suggests that it is nothing more than a partisan political tool, which can be weaponized against Americans,” said the State Department.
ICJ President Yuji Iwasawa stated in Wednesday’s ruling, “The court finds that Israel has not substantiated its allegations that a significant part of UNRWA’s employees are ‘members of Hamas… or other terrorist factions."
Iwasawa also said that Israel failed to provide sufficient evidence that a significant number of Hamas terrorists were employed by UNRWA. “The court finds that Israel has not substantiated its allegations that a significant part of UNRWA’s employees are ‘members of Hamas… or other terrorist factions," he said.
UNRWA has long been criticized for its cooperation with Hamas. That criticism has increased since Israel revealed in 2024 that UNRWA staff participated in the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks.
It then presented a dossier showing that the UNRWA workers who participated in the Hamas massacre kidnapped a woman, handed out ammunition and actively took part in the massacre at Kibbutz Be’eri, where 97 people were murdered.
Following the Israeli revelations, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced the creation of a review group, headed by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, to look into the Israeli allegations.
The group, which released its report last April, said it found neutrality-related issues" in UNRWA but also claimed that Israel had yet to provide evidence for allegations that a significant number of its staff were members of terrorist organizations.
Emily Damari, a former Hamas hostage who was freed after 470 days in captivity, said that she was held at an UNRWA facility while in captivity.
In April 2025, USAID revealed that the United Nations obstructed an investigation by the American government into the ties between UNRWA employees in Gaza and the Hamas terrorist organization.