CNN’s Bianna Golodryga pressed the director of UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) to address “two quite damning allegations” — namely that a UNRWA boxes were seen hiding piles of rockets and that an UNRWA teacher had held one of the hostages who has since been released back to Israel.
Golodryga posed the questions to Thomas White, Director of Affairs for the U.N. Palestinian refugee aid group, and he repeatedly pivoted to talk about the food and other necessary supplies that were being brought in on UNRWA trucks.
WATCH:
CNN @biannagolodryga:
Hamas hostage testified being held by @UNRWA teacher. What's your response?UNRWA @TomWhiteGaza:
I can speak about the flour UNRWA delivers.CNN:
Does it bother you that UNRWA teacher held somebody hostage?UNRWA:
Every bag of flour is cross-referenced. pic.twitter.com/QMPfvZKh22— Elad Radson (@EladRadson) December 5, 2023
“Thomas, Israel is citing security concerns with regards to the number of trucks that are going into Gaza. And on Saturday, the IDF said that it found dozens of rockets hidden under boxes marked with UNRWA’s insignia, in northern Gaza,” Golodryga asked first about the rockets, noting that they had been found hidden under UNRWA boxes — and that the question was whether or not UNRWA had smuggled those rockets in under the guise of humanitarian aid.
Golodryga went on to reference another report, saying that one of the hostages who was released back to Israel had told officials that he was being held by an UNRWA teacher.
“This teacher locked the victim away, barely provided food and neglected medical needs,” she said.
Golodryga noted that UNRWA had responded to the allegations by accusing those who reported them of potentially spreading “misinformation.”
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“How is UNRWA investigating or responding to these two quite damning allegations?” Golodryga asked, noting that at least in the case of the released hostage, they were talking about survivor testimony rather than “allegations.”
White made it clear that he had no interest in addressing the allegations — or the testimony of the former hostage — and instead listed several of the food items that UNRWA had brought into Gaza.
“So what I can speak to is our aid, essentially the aid that UNRWA is bringing in goes directly into the hands of the refugees. So on any given day here, we are distributing over 50,000 bags of flour to families so that they can provide for themselves. We account for that,” he said.
“Does it bother you then at all that some of these trucks may be bringing, secretly smuggling in rockets or that UNRWA teachers are hiding abductees allegedly?” Golodryga pressed again.
“Look, our trucks are not bringing in rockets,” White said, immediately pivoting back to his previous talking point. “Our trucks are bringing in wheat flour. They’re bringing in supplies that help families eke out a very basic existence. We have a very clear system of accountability. Every bag of flour that is provided is cross-referenced against people’s national identity number. And so, you know, there are now hundreds of thousands of bags, literally wheat bags, wheat flour bags in Gaza with the UNRWA logo on them. And they have all gone to families so that they can feed themselves.”