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Sky News has seen Israeli intelligence documents that Israel claims are evidence that staff working for a UN agency were connected with Hamas in Gaza.

The report, which has been shared with foreign governments, alleges that six employees of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) infiltrated Israel. Four of them were allegedly involved in kidnapping Israelis, while another worker is said to have provided “logistics support”.

Further claims include accusations that “out of approx. 12,000 UNRWA employees in GS [Gaza Strip], about 10% are Hamas/PIJ [Palestinian Islamic Jihad] operatives and about 50% are first-degree relatives with a Hamas operative”.

Critics of Israel’s actions say the number of staff allegedly involved is a tiny percentage of the agency’s overall workforce, and the decision by governments to suspend funding in response to the claims is a cruel and disproportionate move.

The Norwegian Refugee Council said it was “outraged” at foreign governments for pausing donations.

It said in a statement: “We are shocked by the reckless decision to cut a lifeline for an entire population by some of the very countries that had called for aid in Gaza to be stepped up and for humanitarians to be protected while doing their job.”

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The Israeli intelligence report also claims UNRWA is forced “to act under the authorisation and supervision of Hamas” and “it appears that UNRWA is assisting Hamas with securing humanitarian aid that is transferred to GS”.

It adds: “Following Hamas’s request, during Swords of Iron [the Israeli name for its military action in Gaza], UNRWA transferred fuel to north GS.”

Israel has long claimed that Hamas fighters have used UNWRA facilities to hide and store weapons, including in schools and hospitals, and dug tunnels under the agency’s buildings, sometimes with its knowledge.

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‘Collective punishment’

UNRWA was established in 1949 to provide assistance and protection for Palestinian refugees. It is funded almost entirely by voluntary donations.

In practice, the agency runs schools, health services and refugee camps – but not just in Gaza. It also operates in east Jerusalem and the West Bank, as well as parts of Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.

It provides education to more than 544,000 children across 706 schools, hundreds of millions of dollars in loans for small businesses and job creation, and healthcare support for more than seven million visits by patients every year.

They will all be affected by the suspension of funding, which critics have described as a form of “collective punishment”.

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The Israeli intelligence documents make several claims that Sky News has not seen proof of and many of the claims, even if true, do not directly implicate UNRWA.

Following the allegations, a number of countries, including the US, UK, Germany, Japan, and Australia, suspended funding to the agency pending further investigation.

‘Death sentence for millions’

Responding to the developments, UNRWA’s commissioner general Phillippe Lazzarini said last week he had immediately terminated the contracts of the accused staff and ordered an investigation.

He said: “Any UNRWA employee who was involved in acts of terror will be held accountable, including through criminal prosecution.

“UNRWA reiterates its condemnation in the strongest possible terms of the abhorrent attacks of 7 October and calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all Israeli hostages and their safe return to their families.”

UNRWA also said it shares the list of all its staff with host countries every year, including Israel.

“The agency never received any concerns on specific staff members,” it added.

The move to cut funding has been severely criticised by other aid organisations. Action Aid said it “spells a death sentence for millions of Palestinians in Gaza and the surrounding regions.”

UNRWA has paid a heavy price during the war – 152 of its staff have been killed in Gaza and 145 of its facilities have been damaged.

Undercover Israeli troops dressed as civilian women and medics have stormed a hospital in the West Bank – killing three people Israel claimed were militants.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said its troops shot dead three men after entering the Ibn Sina hospital, in the northern city of Jenin, early on Tuesday.

Security camera video footage appeared to show around a dozen undercover, armed personnel wearing Muslim headscarves, hospital scrubs and white doctor’s coats.

One was seen carrying a rifle in one arm and a folded wheelchair in the other.

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said the Israeli forces opened fire inside wards and said there had been no exchange of fire.

It called on the international community to step in to stop further such attacks in hospitals.

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Tuesday’s raid came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ruled out both a military withdrawal from Gaza and the release of thousands of jailed Palestinians – two of the main demands Hamas has made for a ceasefire.

Conflicting reports of second raid

There were also conflicting reports on Tuesday about another possible raid at al Amal Hospital in Gaza’s southern Khan Younis.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said earlier that Israeli forces had stormed the grounds of the medical facility and told people to evacuate at gunpoint.

In a statement on X, the PRCS said: “displaced individuals and PRCS teams are being demanded to evacuate the building under the threat of arms”.

It later added that Israeli tanks were stationed in its “front yard” and were “firing live ammunition and smoke grenades”.

However, an Israeli military spokesperson said: “There’s no storming of the hospital, entry into it or any ordering of people to leave at gunpoint.”

‘We will not withdraw’

Speaking in the West Bank, Mr Netanyahu repeated his vow to keep fighting until “absolute victory” over Hamas and denied reports of a possible ceasefire.

“We will not withdraw the Israeli military from the Gaza Strip and we will not release thousands of terrorists,” he said.

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Meanwhile, a senior Hamas leader said a proposal for a new ceasefire in Gaza would involve three stages, including the release of hostages held by the Islamist group and Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

Women, children, the elderly and the wounded would be released in the first stage, the Hamas leader said.

‘We don’t need a wider war’

It came as US President Joe Biden said he had decided how to respond to the killing of three US troops at a base in Jordan – but did not go into details.

The White House has said it believes an Iran-backed group was responsible. Iran has denied involvement.

Speaking as he left for a trip to Florida on Tuesday, Mr Biden replied “yes” when asked if he had decided how to respond, but did not elaborate.

However, he added: “I don’t think we need a wider war in the Middle East. That’s not what I’m looking for.”