A bloc of 25 Republican senators is urging President Donald Trump to push for the dismantling of UNRWA, arguing that the UN agency for Palestinian refugees has become too compromised by Hamas ties to play any role in Gaza’s future.
In a letter sent Monday and led by Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, the lawmakers called on the administration to work through the United Nations to eliminate UNRWA from the UN budget and replace it with aid channels subject to stricter oversight.
Their argument is blunt: Gaza cannot be stabilized while the institutions that helped sustain Hamas’s grip remain intact.
“Achieving stability in Gaza requires ridding Gaza of the military, social and political infrastructure that fed Hamas’s power,” the senators wrote.
The letter points to Israeli findings that at least 12 UNRWA employees took part in the Hamas-led October 7 massacre in southern Israel. It also cites claims that around 10% of UNRWA’s Gaza workforce has links to militant organizations.
The lawmakers referenced a US Agency for International Development investigation that they said identified three additional UNRWA employees involved in the attacks, along with 14 others affiliated with Hamas.
Beyond staffing concerns, the senators accused Hamas of exploiting UNRWA’s facilities and supply networks throughout the war. They alleged that Hamas diverted aid, stored weapons in agency-linked sites, used infrastructure near or inside its facilities, and even held hostages in UNRWA buildings.
For Cotton, the conclusion is simple. “Funding UNRWA is funding Hamas,” he said separately, insisting the agency “should never receive another dime.”
The senators said future humanitarian work in Gaza must be transparent, accountable, and demonstrably free of terrorist influence.
Their demand marks another escalation in Washington’s fight over postwar Gaza: whether to reform UNRWA, replace it, or finally admit that the agency has become part of the problem it claims to solve.
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