A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit brought against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) by 100 victims of the attacks on October 7, 2023, and others, for aiding Hamas in the massacres in southern Israel on that day, the New York Times reported on Friday morning.
The lawsuit, filed last June in the Southern District of New York, seeks $1 billion in damages, alleges that UNRWA supported Hamas by allowing its facilities to be used for weapons storage, the construction of tunnels and command centers, and the transfer of funds to the group through employee payments in US dollars.
The judge ruled that, since UNRWA is a part of the United Nations, it can claim the organization's immunity from being sued.
At the time of reporting, neither the plaintiffs nor UNWRA had published a comment on the ruling.
UNRWA not a 'subsidiary organ' of the UN
In April, the US Justice Department (DOJ) issued a letter arguing that UNRWA does not benefit from the UN's immunity status to protect it from lawsuits in the US, as it is not classified as a "subsidiary organ" of the UN under the International Organizations Immunities Act.
The letter reversed the DOJ's previous stance on the matter under the Biden administration, in which it ruled that UNRWA could claim immunity status, halting the lawsuit's progression.