The UN mourned a terrorist: How an UNRWA principal was a Hamas commander
At the UN's annual memorial ceremony, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres lit a candle for Imad Yousif El Samhouri, an UNRWA school principal killed in Gaza. However, Hamas's own footage reveals El Samhouri was a military commander who emerged from tunnels armed. This case highlights the deep infiltration of UNRWA by terror operatives.
"We chose jihad as our path. Our anthem is that death on the path of Allah is our highest aspiration." In a video will recorded as early as 2007, Imad Yousif El Samhouri praised the tunnels as a "means of resistance" and threatened the "Zionist enemy" with attacks from underground. He signed his will as a "living shahid." For Hamas, he was a revered commander in the Muhammad al-Shamali battalion, but for the UN, he was a veteran teacher and principal of an UNRWA boys' middle school in Rafah.
A Hamas commander in the UN's memorial list
On June 8, 2026, during the annual UN memorial ceremony, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, along with the Presidents of the General Assembly and the Security Council, lit a candle in memory of 136 employees killed in the past year. Guterres noted that 80 of them served in UNRWA and emphasized that UN staff should never be a target.
Among the names read was El Samhouri, killed in June 2025 by IDF strikes. Previously, his death was used by anti-Israel groups to claim "indiscriminate killings." However, new footage released by Hamas on Telegram revealed the truth: the school principal is seen emerging from tunnels armed with rifles and grenades. UN Watch confirmed that the man the UN honored as a humanitarian worker was a commander in Hamas's military wing.
Support for terror and weapons training
El Samhouri openly supported terror, posting content praising the "resistance" and videos of children celebrating the 2014 kidnapping of Israeli teenagers. He facilitated meetings between his students and Hamas officials and served on the board of the Al-Qadsia football club in Rafah, which reportedly received funding from Ismail Haniyeh. Footage from the site shows children training with weapons.
Since October 7, 2023, numerous connections between UNRWA staff and Hamas have emerged. Ayelet Samerano, mother of the late Yonatan Samerano, testified before the Human Rights Council that an UNRWA social worker kidnapped her son's body. Yonatan's remains were later recovered by the IDF and the Shin Bet.
A systemic issue within UNRWA
El Samhouri's case is not isolated. Hostages have testified to being held by UNRWA teachers, and Muhammad Abu Atiwi, another UNRWA employee, was identified as a Nukhba force commander who led the October 7 massacre. Just four days after the memorial ceremony, UNRWA fired 70 employees due to their ties to Hamas.
Hillel Neuer, CEO of UN Watch, demanded an apology from Guterres and an independent investigation. He urged donor countries, including Germany, Spain, and France, to end the immunity of terror activists within the organization.
In response on August 21, the UN spokesperson called the allegations "disturbing" but shifted blame to Israel, claiming that El Samhouri's name was on the annual list provided to Israeli authorities, who raised no concerns. When asked if the mistake would be corrected, the spokesperson replied coldly: "What was said was said."
