Hamas’s Top Commander in Lebanon Was Also a UNRWA Principal and Teachers’ Union Boss, Embattled Aid Group Admits

Fatah Sharif, killed in an early morning Israeli strike, lauded by Hamas for his ‘educational and jihadist work’

Fatah Sharif, killed in an Israeli airstrike early Monday, was Hamas’s top commander in Lebanon, helping the terror group coordinate with Hezbollah. He was also a prominent UNRWA official who worked as a principal at a local U.N. school and led the agency’s Lebanese teachers’ union.

Sharif headed Deir Yassin Secondary School in the al-Bass refugee camp, which Israel struck in the early morning hours. In addition to his work as a principal, Sharif led the UNRWA teachers’ union in Lebanon, which oversees 65 schools and nearly 40,000 students, according to the watchdog group U.N. Watch.

Shortly after his death, UNRWA confirmed in a statement that Sharif was one of its employees. Hamas lauded his dual roles in its own statement, praising Sharif for his “educational and jihadist work” and calling him “a successful teacher and an outstanding principal” for Palestinian refugees.

Sharif is just the latest UNRWA employee to be outed as a Hamas member. Around a dozen UNRWA employees participated in Hamas’s Oct. 7 terror spree, and around 10 percent of the aid organization’s workforce is affiliated with the terror group, according to Israel.

The agency, which provides support for Palestinian refugees, spent months denying that its employees work alongside Hamas, dismissing the claims as Israeli propaganda. In August, it fired nine staffers for participating in Oct. 7 attacks.

Sharif’s prominent status within the agency is already prompting congressional calls to permanently end U.S. funding to the UNRWA. Former president Donald Trump cut off that funding in 2018, but it was restored under the Biden-Harris administration three years later. President Joe Biden went on to sign a law in March that banned U.S. funding to the agency for a year, though the White House has since said it supports restoring the funding. For Rep. Elise Stefanik (R., N.Y.), doing so would be unacceptable.

“UNRWA’s confirmation that the head of Hamas forces in Lebanon, Fateh Sherif, was their employee is the latest proof that the United Nations has become a cesspool of antisemitism,” Stefanik said in a statement shared with the Washington Free Beacon. “Joe Biden and Kamala Harris must permanently cut off UNRWA funding, revoke its tax-exempt status, and provide oversight of every U.S. dollar the UN receives.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Roughly one week ago, on Sept. 21, White House spokesman John Kirby said the Biden-Harris administration “continue[s] to support funding for UNRWA” given the agency’s “distribution of lifesaving assistance.” The administration is slated on Monday to announce a $336 million aid package for Gaza and the West Bank, according to Reuters.

The Biden-Harris administration has been critical of Israeli efforts to designate UNRWA as a terrorist organization despite the agency’s long ties to Hamas and promotion of anti-Semitic educational materials.

“UNRWA is not a terrorist organization,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in July, as the Israeli government considered legislation to designate the aid group. “We have been clear about the important role that UNRWA plays in delivering humanitarian assistance and other critical assistance to Palestinians in Gaza—and throughout the region, not just in Gaza.”

The United States has also backed U.N. efforts to shield UNRWA employees from prosecution for their terrorism. Earlier this month, the Department of Justice signed on to a U.S. court filing that argued that “UNRWA employees who were involved in the Oct. 7 massacre are immune from legal action,” according to the Jerusalem Post.