The move, part of an investigation into Hamas-linked employees at UN agencies, prohibits the man from working on US-funded aid projects
The Trump administration formally blacklisted a principal at a United Nations school in Gaza after federal investigators unearthed evidence that he participated in the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks as a member of Hamas’s East Jabaliya Battalion, the Washington Free Beacon has learned. It is the first time the United States has banned a terrorist affiliated with a U.N. humanitarian agency from participating in U.S. foreign aid projects, according to a nonpublic investigative summary provided to Congress and reviewed by the Free Beacon.
The State Department this week informed U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) school principal Hafez Mousa Mohammed Mousa that he is now on the U.S. government’s blacklist, prohibiting him from participating in all American foreign aid projects for a period of 10 years. The Trump administration made the determination after the United States Agency for International Development’s inspector general, an independent investigatory agency, documented conclusive evidence that Mousa moonlighted as a high-ranking Hamas captain.
“Mousa is an operative of the Hamas East Jabaliya Battalion and coordinated communications with other suspected Hamas members during the October 7 attacks while serving as an UNRWA school principal,” the inspector general wrote. Mousa allegedly closed his UNRWA school early on October 7 and contacted at least 20 fellow Hamas operatives, ordering them to infiltrate Israel “with cars and weapons,” according to the State Department.
A USAID spokesman, who confirmed the enforcement action against Moussa, said other Hamas-linked UNRWA staffers will face similar repercussions in the coming months as part of a larger administration effort to ensure U.S. taxpayers do not fund terror-tied foreign entities. The USAID inspector general—the chief oversight authority responsible for tracking U.S. foreign aid—has conducted an investigation into UNRWA for months and built a list designed to prevent Hamas-linked employees from working in the U.N. aid system ever again, the Free Beacon reported in November.
“We are incredibly proud of this investigation,” the USAID spokesman said. “The Trump Administration will not tolerate taxpayer dollars failing into the hands of terrorists. This debarment is part of an ongoing effort and you can expect similar actions to follow.”
Mousa is just one of several UNRWA school administrators who allegedly double as Hamas leaders. A September 2025 U.N. Watch report determined that Hamas had been controlling the aid agency since at least 2011, assigning its members teaching positions and administrative roles, the Free Beacon reported at the time. The USAID inspector general’s ongoing investigation is specifically focused on identifying these individuals, according to a U.S. diplomatic official briefed on the matter.
“This investigation has, and will continue to reveal the vast extent to which UNRWA personnel doubled as Hamas terrorists,” the official said. “The USAID IG’s fact-based findings validate our decision to never let UNRWA near another dollar of U.S. taxpayer funds.”
The Trump administration’s efforts to hold UNRWA accountable differ drastically from the United Nations’ own action after it became clear the Gaza-based aid agency worked alongside Hamas. A U.N. probe last year into its staffers’ involvement in the October 7 attack against Israel dismissed intelligence—including intercepted audio recordings and cell phone data—that connected those staffers to Hamas, the Free Beacon first reported in November.
The USAID inspector general’s ongoing investigation flagged at least 14 other UNRWA employees “for having Hamas affiliation,” according to the case summary. “This proactive investigation remains active and ongoing.” The oversight agency said it expects to refer “numerous UNRWA personnel for suspension/debarment consideration based on Hamas affiliation and/or participation in the October 7 terrorist attacks.”
Debarment carries significant penalties. The administration will publish Mousa’s name on a government-wide blacklist, making it effectively impossible for him to be involved with U.S. aid projects in the Middle East and beyond.
“Offers will not be solicited from, contracts will not be awarded to, existing contracts will not be renewed or otherwise extended for, and subcontracts requiring Government approval will not be approved for you by any agency in the Executive Branch of the Federal Government,” the State Department explained to Mousa in a notice reviewed by the Free Beacon.
Mousa will remain on a government blacklist for the next decade “due to the aggravating factor of the egregiousness of [his] actions on October 7, 2023,” which included “personal involvement in facilitating the attacks,” the State Department made clear.
The U.N. Relief and Works Agency did not respond to a request for comment.
