Fateh Sharif; Hamas Leader, ex-UNRWA employee killed by IDF strike in Lebanon
The UN agency says Hamas leader in Lebanon Fateh Sharif, recently assassinated in an IDF airstrike, was a UNRWA employee — but Sharif was suspended for investigation when allegations of his Hamas ties emerged in March.
Text and images by Collin Mayfield.
Fateh Sharif Abu Al-Amin, the Hamas commander in Lebanon, at a protest in Beirut against his suspension from UNRWA in March 2024.
Fateh Sharif, the Hamas commander in Lebanon and a suspended UNRWA employee, was assassinated by an Israeli airstrike in the Lebanese port city Tyre on September 29th. Hamas confirmed that Sharif, alongside his wife and two children, were killed in the Al-Bass refugee camp. Israel’s strike in Al-Bass was the first time the camp has been targeted since fighting erupted between Israel and Hezbollah last October.
Sharif kept his position in Hamas quiet, as he was also employed by UNRWA — the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. Originally a teacher, Sharif was the principal of the UNRWA-run Deir Yassin high school in Al-Bass camp and the chairman of UNRWA’s teachers’ union.
Sharif was suspended without pay in March 2024 after UNRWA received a tip about Sharif’s Hamas ties. The UN agency said it was investigating Sharif’s potential actions “in violation of the Agency's regulatory framework governing staff conduct," but said little else.
Meanwhile the UNRWA teachers’ union initiated strikes and protests, attended by supporters and activists, saying that Sharif was suspended because of his political views.
I attended one such protest outside UNRWA’s Beirut headquarters on March 27, at which Sharif spoke. His role in Hamas was not entirely known at the time, though he openly supported the group on Facebook. Attendees expressed that Sharif was suspended for having “nationalist affiliations.” One protester told me Sharif was suspended for a post where he praised the October 7 attack.
Protesters, many from the nearby Palestinian refugee camps, outside the UNRWA office in Beirut.
“I am rooted in this institution [UNRWA] to serve my people, and I will keep serving these people because they deserve to be served,” Sharif said in his speech. “Don’t think of threatening us. We will return and stay, and you go back to your homes.”
Sharif’s supporters outside UNRWA’s Beirut office.
A banner reads “National belonging to Palestine is not a crime, but it keeps our heads up” near UNRWA’s Beirut office.
Sharif’s assassination last Monday came amidst a wider Israeli operation dubbed ‘Northern Arrows.’ Starting late September, Israeli airstrikes have hit southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley and Beirut area. Israeli officials claim the airstrikes target Hezbollah, but also groups like the Amal Movement, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and Hamas. The airstrikes have killed several prominent commanders, including Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. State officials report that over 2,000 people have been killed in airstrikes that have destroyed homes and apartment buildings — adding to the over one million civilians who have now been displaced by the war.
The Israeli military confirmed that the Al-Bass airstrike targeted Sharif, stating that he was “in charge of coordinating the activities of Hamas from Lebanon with Hezbollah elements” and “responsible for [Hamas] strengthening efforts in Lebanon in the field of recruiting operatives and purchasing weapons.” Sharif “worked to advance Hamas’ interests in [Lebanon], both politically and militarily,” the statement added.
Hamas confirmed Sharif’s leadership role and assassination in a statement on Monday, saying Fateh Sharif “was martyred after a career full of struggle in the service of the Palestinian cause.”
“His martyrdom comes within the framework of the ‘Al-Aqsa Flood’ battle, which our people are waging against the Zionist occupation,” said Hamas, adding that Sharif helped create “an educated Palestinian generation … whether through his role in education or through resistance work.”
A Hamas poster describing “the educator and martyr Fateh Amin Sharif” as “the leader of Hamas in Lebanon and Member of our leadership abroad.”
Sharif’s assassination comes nearly 10 months after Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouni was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut’s Dahieh suburb.
UNRWA has experienced an $80 million drop in funding this year amid criticism that Hamas has infiltrated the UN organization. In January 2024, Israel accused 12 UNRWA employees of participating in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. 18 donor countries suspend funding, causing an initial cash crunch of about $450 million. All but the US have opted to resume funding.
The UN’s Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) launched a probe into UNRWA, and the OIOS findings convinced the UN to terminate or suspend an unclarified number of UNRWA employees.
In a press conference last Monday, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini reiterated that Sharif was suspended for an investigation in March, saying “the investigation was still ongoing.”
Lazarini claimed he heard that Sharif was a member of Hamas’ political wing, saying “the specific allegation at the time was that [he was] part of the local leadership,” but he denied knowing that Sharif held a leadership role in Hamas’ military wing the Al-Qassam Brigades. “I never heard the word commander before [today],” Lazarini said.
Lazarini described what he called “a large-scale campaign aimed at undermining the agency,” and explained that UNRWA has thousands of employees in the region, but that it investigates each substantiated allegation.
“We do not have, as a human development agency, a police capacity, intelligence services,” adding “what’s obvious for you today, was not obvious yesterday.”
Lazzarini also confirmed receiving a letter from Israel with the names of 100 UNRWA employees allegedly tied to Hamas. He took the letter “very seriously,” but said UNRWA’s requests for additional information were ignored.
“A list is not proof of anything,” Lazzarini said.
UNRWA has some 32,000 employees across Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and the Palestinian territories, including some 13,000 in the Gaza Strip. The agency provides healthcare, education, food and other services to millions of Palestinians. In Gaza, the IDF has frequently attacked UNRWA facilities. Israel has killed 223 UNRWA staffers, which the UN says makes Gaza the bloodiest war for UN employees since the organization’s founding.
(Reporting by Collin Mayfield. Collin's Lebanon reportage was funded in part by Qilo Tactical and KommandoStore)
