Updated on Sunday, January 11, 2009, 00:00 IST

Jerusalem, Jan 10: The United Nations refugee agency on Saturday slammed an Israeli ambassador's accusations that its Gaza employees were Hamas loyalists.

"We are getting mixed message from the Israeli authorities," UNRWA spokesman Christopher Gunness told reporters.

"Yesterday (they) expressed deep regret about the death of our workers and urged us to resume our humanitarian work as soon as possible.

"And yet today an Israeli ambassador is accusing those very same workers of being terrorists. It seems that the Israeli authorities are tying themselves in knots."

Israel's ambassador to Austria, Dan Ashbel, said in an interview with the Austrian weekly "profil" to be published Monday that UNRWA's workers "are Hamas people who distribute aid to those loyal to Hamas."

"This aid organisation has been taken over by Hamas and is being used as a weapon against its own people," he added.

A UN official speaking on condition of anonymity said the agency has run background checks on all its Palestinian staff and handed a list of all their names over to Israeli authorities.

On Tuesday 43 people were killed in an Israeli strike on an UNRWA school in the northern Gaza town of Jabaliya. Israeli officials said Hamas was storing weapons inside the school. UNRWA said there was no "militant activity" inside the school compound.

Bureau Report