Israel accused of widespread abuse of detained UN humanitarian staff

The embattled UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, has accused Israel of abusing dozens of its staff in military detention and using some as human shields.

- Jason Burke

Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the agency, said that more than 50 UNRWA staff, including teachers, doctors and social workers, had been detained and abused since the start of the 18-month war in Gaza.

"They have been treated in the most shocking and inhumane way. They reported being beaten and used as human shields," Lazzarini wrote on X, adding that those detained had been subjected to "sleep deprivation, humiliation, threats of harm to them and their families, attacks by dogs...[and] forced confessions".

UN officials said the reported abuse had taken place in Gaza but also in military detention sites in Israel.

The Israeli military has not responded directly to Lazzarini's accusation but has previously denied allegations of widespread abuse in its detention facilities and by its troops. However, it has launched multiple investigations into abuse by individual soldiers during the war and into the use of detainees as human shields, bringing charges against service personnel in some cases.