Sen. Blackburn calls to defund UNRWA amid report linking dead Hamas leader to agency

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., on Wednesday called for the the U.S. to stop funding the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) following a report that a Hamas leader killed in an Israeli airstrike was a staffer at the United Nations. 

"UNRWA has been overrun by Hamas operatives paid for by the American taxpayer," Blackburn wrote on the social media platform, X. "It is time to permanently defund @UNRWA."

The Wall Street Journal has reported that the Hamas leader was a high ranking member of the UNRWA. He has been identified as Fateh el-Sharif and he reportedly worked as a school principal for the agency. 

Sharif had been placed on leave due to his ties with Hamas by the UNRWA, according to ABC News. 

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said that he heard about Sharif having ties to Hamas in March and started an investigation. 

Hamas said that the Israeli airstrike killed Sharif along with his wife and two children.