US Debars First UN-Agency-Linked Hamas Operative, Confirms Oct. 7 Body-Dragger Al-Naami Was Active Hamas Militant

The USAID Office of Inspector General and US State Department announced this week that Hafez Mousa Mohammed Mousa, a former UNRWA school principal and Hamas East Jabaliya Battalion operative who coordinated communications with other Hamas members during the October 7, 2023 attack, has been formally debarred from US-funded foreign assistance programs — the first known US debarment of a terrorist affiliated with a UN humanitarian agency. Three additional former UNRWA teachers were proposed for debarment: a Hamas Deir al-Balah Battalion operative accused of helping abduct hostages on October 7, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad Rafah Brigade operative accused of infiltrating Israel that day, and a second Deir al-Balah Battalion operative accused of holding civilians hostage in Gaza. A USAID OIG spokesperson said its 'active and ongoing investigations help prevent terrorists from circulating across US-funded foreign assistance programs in Gaza.' Separately, investigative reporting by the Washington Free Beacon, citing USAID OIG findings, confirmed that Faisal Ali Al-Naami — an UNRWA-employed 'social worker' filmed on October 7 dragging the body of 21-year-old Yonatan Samerano into an SUV at Kibbutz Be'eri before it was taken into Gaza — was an active Hamas military-communications operative; USAID had considered proposing him for debarment but the case was dropped after he was confirmed killed in an Israeli strike in October 2023. A State Department official called the finding linking Al-Naami to the killing 'a game-changer,' and a department spokesman reiterated that no State Department funding will go to UNRWA. The referrals bring the total number of current or former UNRWA staff flagged by USAID OIG for October 7 participation or Hamas/Islamic Jihad affiliation since 2024 above 100, with further criminal referrals to the Department of Justice possible.