TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — An Israeli document obtained Monday lays out allegations against a dozen U.N. employees who the country says were involved in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that helped restore the body of a soldier steal.

The allegations against staff at the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees prompted the United States and several other countries to freeze vital funds for the organization, which provides a lifeline for desperate Palestinians in Gaza. The White House indicated that funding could be restored depending on the agency’s investigation and subsequent actions.

The UN condemned “the disgusting alleged acts” and fired nine of the accused workers, including teachers and a social worker. Two of them are reportedly dead and the last is yet to be identified.

The allegations come after years of tension between Israel and the organization known as UNRWA over its work in Gaza, where it employs around 13,000 people.

UNRWA is the largest aid donor in Gaza, where Israel’s war against Hamas has displaced the vast majority of the population within the besieged territory and plunged it into a humanitarian catastrophe. UN officials say a quarter of the population is starving.

With most of its budget in question and UNRWA spending contributions as they come in throughout the year, the organization will be forced to cease operations within weeks if funding is not restored.

“Significant gaps” remain in the ceasefire talks.

The threat to the UN agency came as Israel said Sunday’s ceasefire talks were constructive but there were still “significant gaps” in a possible deal. The talks aim to provide respite to the war-torn Gaza Strip and secure the release of more than 100 hostages still held in the area.

Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan told reporters in Beirut that talks were ongoing but that the group still insisted on a more permanent ceasefire before more hostages were released.

The prime minister of Qatar, which has served as a key Hamas mediator, was more optimistic, saying U.S. and Middle Eastern mediators had agreed on a framework proposal for a ceasefire and the release of hostages that they would present to the militant group . Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told the Atlantic Council in Washington that mediators had made “good progress.”

Meanwhile, Israeli forces are still fighting Palestinian militants in various parts of the Gaza Strip, even in areas where the army has been operating for months.

Israel issued an evacuation order for residents in the western part of Gaza City and urged them to move south. The military also said it had been fighting militants in recent days and carrying out airstrikes in other parts of the northern Gaza Strip, which came under attack in the early weeks of the war and where Israel claims it has largely crushed Hamas.

Militants also fired a barrage of around 15 rockets into central Israel for the first time in weeks. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

According to Israeli authorities, the war was triggered by the Hamas attack on October 7, which killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and captured about 250 people.

According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, Israel responded with an intensive air, sea and ground offensive that killed more than 26,000 Palestinians, most of them women and minors. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count.

The war also threatened to spark a larger regional conflict. In the latest example of high tensions, the US announced that three of its soldiers were killed in an attack attributed to Iranian-backed militias in Jordan.

DETAILED ALLEGATIONS AGAINST UNRWA WORKERS

The Israeli document provided to U.S. officials and obtained by The Associated Press lists 12 people, their alleged roles in the attack, job descriptions and photos. The findings presented in the document could not be independently confirmed.

The document said information gathered showed at least 190 UNRWA staff were Hamas or Islamic Jihad operatives, without providing any evidence.

Of the twelve workers, nine were teachers and one was a social worker, it was said. Seven of the employees were accused of entering Israel on October 7th. One of them was accused of taking part in a kidnapping, another was accused of helping to dispose of a dead soldier and three others were accused of being involved in the attacks.

Ten people were linked to Hamas and one to the militant group Islamic Jihad. Two of the 12 were killed, according to the document. The UN had previously said one was still being identified.

The allegations have inflamed long-standing tensions between Israel and UNRWA. Israel says Hamas uses the agency’s facilities to store weapons and launch attacks. UNRWA says it does not knowingly tolerate such behavior and has internal safeguards in place to prevent abuse and discipline any misconduct.

Even before the latest allegations, the agency’s commissioner, Philippe Lazzarini, had announced that he would order an external review of the agency’s operations and security measures.

Israel has long been critical of the agency, accusing it of helping perpetuate the 76-year-old Palestinian refugee crisis. Foreign Minister Israel Katz said he canceled a meeting between Israeli officials and Lazzarini on Wednesday and called on the UNRWA chief to resign.

CALLS TO RESUME FINANCING

The U.N. says the entire agency should not be punished for the alleged actions of the dozen workers it says will be held accountable. It has called on donors to resume funding.

A coalition of 20 aid organizations, including the Norwegian Refugee Council, Oxfam and Save the Children, also called for funding to be restored, saying UNRWA’s provision of humanitarian aid “cannot be replaced.”

The United States, the agency’s largest donor, cut funding over the weekend, followed by more than a dozen other countries. Together they provided more than 60% of UNRWA’s budget in 2022.

But National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said it would be wrong to “doubt the good work of an entire agency because of the possible bad actions of a small group here.” He appeared to leave the door open for aid to resume.

“I think a lot will depend on what the investigation reveals and what accountability and corrective action UNWRA is willing to take,” he said.

UNRWA provides essential services to Palestinian families who fled or were displaced from what is now Israel during the war over the country’s creation in 1948. There are now almost six million refugees and their descendants in the Middle East. In Gaza they make up the majority of the population.

UNRWA is unique in the UN system because it focuses on only one national group and refugees from other conflicts fall under the purview of the organization known as UNHCR.

Since the war began, most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have relied on UNRWA programs for their “mere survival,” including food and shelter, Lazzarini said.

Communications director Juliette Touma warned that the agency would be forced to end its support in Gaza by the end of February.

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Jobain reported from Rafah in the Gaza Strip and Jeffery from London.

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Follow AP’s coverage of the Israel-Hamas war at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war