UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres arrives on the podium for his remarks, during the opening of the High-Level Segment of the 55th session of the Human Rights Council at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Feb 26, 2024. (PHOTO / AP)

UNITED NATIONS - An investigation of Israeli allegations that 12 staff members of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) were involved in the Oct 7, 2023, attacks in Israel continues while the investigators have yet to enter Israel, said a UN spokesman on Thursday.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday received an update from the Office for Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) on their work regarding the investigation, said Stephane Dujarric, Guterres' spokesman.

Asked why Israel has been dragging its feet on providing evidence, Dujarric (Stephane Dujarric, UN chief's spokesman) said he did not want to say anything that would jeopardize the UN investigation

The OIOS began work on Jan 29, the day the secretary-general tasked them with this effort. The investigation remains ongoing, said the spokesman.

OIOS staff are planning to visit Israel soon to obtain information from Israeli authorities that may be relevant to the investigation, he said.

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So far, OIOS investigators have reviewed the initial information received by UNRWA from Israeli authorities. They have been in communication with other member states to obtain any information relevant to the investigation. OIOS investigators have also been to UNRWA headquarters in Amman, Jordan, to obtain and review information held by UNRWA relevant to the investigation, said Dujarric.

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The investigators will continue to seek and to corroborate additional information and to compare the information obtained with materials held by Israeli authorities, which OIOS expects to receive shortly, he said.

Asked why Israel has been dragging its feet on providing evidence, Dujarric said he did not want to say anything that would jeopardize the UN investigation.

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"Our OIOS colleagues have not been sitting on their hands. They've been working actively whether in the region or here (in New York). They were in touch from the beginning with the Israeli authorities," said Dujarric.

Cooperation with the OIOS investigation by member states has thus far been adequate, he said.