UN Palestinian Aid Agency Faces Lawsuits from U.S. Victims of Hamas and Hezbollah Attacks
In a significant turn of events, a lawsuit filed by over 200 U.S. citizens in 2025 accused the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) of violating U.S. antiterrorism laws by promoting terrorism and providing support—including funds and employment—to terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah.
The lawsuit, filed in a Washington district court last week, alleges that the support provided by UNRWA allowed these terror groups to build up their infrastructure, recruit, indoctrinate, radicalize, train, and compensate terrorists. The plaintiffs seek unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
The Mathias family, represented by Deborah Mathias and her husband, Shlomi Mathias, is suing UNRWA for the deaths of their loved ones caused by Hamas. This lawsuit follows a similar one filed last year in New York.
However, UNRWA has strongly denied these allegations, calling the lawsuit "meritless, absurd, dangerous, and morally reprehensible." The agency asserts that its mission is legal, moral, and humanitarian, and accuses the plaintiffs of spreading misinformation aimed at dismantling the agency.
Importantly, a U.S. federal district court dismissed the civil lawsuit, ruling the claims against UNRWA and its U.S.-based nonprofit UNRWA USA as baseless and politically motivated attempts to defund the organization. UNRWA USA highlighted that the lawsuit was intended to intimidate them away from their humanitarian work amid a dire situation in Gaza.
Israel has also been involved in the controversy, designating UNRWA as a terrorist group in 2024 and banning its operations within Israel. However, this designation is not internationally recognized and remains highly controversial.
Despite the allegations, UNRWA remains a significant provider of humanitarian aid to Palestinian refugees and counts the U.S. as one of its largest donors. Historically, UNRWA has been the largest distributor of assistance across Gaza, where an Israeli blockade on the entry of aid including food continues amid a worsening hunger crisis.
UNRWA has condemned the lawsuit, calling it "baseless" and part of a "coordinated campaign" to distract from its goal of providing aid to Palestinians. The agency has also faced criticism from the Israeli government, particularly after the October 7 attacks, with Israel claiming (without providing evidence) that UNRWA employees had taken part.
In summary, while the lawsuit accused UNRWA of promoting terrorism and supporting groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, these claims have been firmly rejected by UNRWA and dismissed by the U.S. court.
[1] New York Times [2] NPR [3] Haaretz [4] Reuters [5] CNN
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