DaysofPal — Human Rights Watch said on Saturday that statements claiming there is “no place for UNRWA in a new Gaza” have no legal standing, emphasizing that Israeli occupation is obligated under international law to allow UNRWA to continue its operations in the territory.
In a press statement, the organization stressed that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) made clear in a 2025 advisory opinion that Israel is legally obligated to enable UNRWA to operate to ensure the unhindered provision of humanitarian relief to civilians in Gaza.
UNRWA remains the backbone of humanitarian aid in Gaza. Humanitarian aid organizations active in the region have said that UNRWA is irreplaceable and that undermining its role will create a dangerous—and potentially catastrophic—vacuum, the rights group added.
UNRWA delivers food and medical assistance to people in Gaza, provides education to hundreds of thousands of children who have been largely deprived of their right to education for over two years, provides psychosocial support to 730,000 displaced people, and potable water to 860,000 people daily. States deliberately obstructing such humanitarian aid is a violation of international law, Human Rights Watch stressed.
It further pointed out that UNRWA has maintained this critical support even though nearly 400 UNRWA staff have been killed in Gaza since October 2023, many of its facilities have been damaged or destroyed, and funding suspensions have brought it to the brink of collapse.
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