DaysofPal – While Israel has yet to eliminate Hamas from Gaza, it is intensifying efforts to dismantle the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), according to UN officials and humanitarian workers. They warn that Israel’s latest measures are crippling life-saving aid to Palestinians.
Two new Israeli laws, which took effect Thursday, effectively ban UNRWA operations in Gaza. One law prohibits the agency from operating in areas under Israeli control, while the other forbids any contact with it. The Israeli military’s aid coordination body, COGAT, confirmed it would enforce these restrictions.
For years, Israel has sought to shut down UNRWA, viewing its recognition of Palestinian refugees and support for their right of return as a political threat. The campaign intensified after October 7, with Israeli strikes targeting UNRWA facilities during its war on Gaza.
According to UNRWA, at least 272 of its staff members have been killed, and 205 of its sites—including schools and clinics sheltering displaced civilians—have been damaged or destroyed.
Deadly Strikes on UNRWA Shelters
One of the deadliest attacks came in June when an Israeli airstrike hit an UNRWA school in the Nuseirat refugee camp, killing at least 40 people. Survivors rejected Israeli claims that Hamas fighters were inside the facility.
“They’re saying they were targeting fighters. What fighters? We don’t have any weapons. We came here for safety with nothing but our tents and the clothes on our backs,” a survivor told Middle East Eye.
UNRWA spokesperson Juliette Toumba has condemned what she calls an “exceptionally hostile environment” and a “fierce disinformation campaign” aimed at discrediting the agency.
Israel has also accused UNRWA employees of involvement in the October 7 attack, prompting the agency to dismiss nine staff members pending an internal investigation. Meanwhile, Israel has repurposed abandoned UNRWA schools in northern Gaza as military bases, highlighting the agency’s complete loss of control over its facilities.
Arab States Rally to Save UNRWA
Israel’s intensified pressure on UNRWA comes as Western funding cuts threaten the agency’s survival. The U.S. halted financial support in early 2024, forcing Arab nations to step in. Foreign ministers from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE met in Cairo on Saturday, declaring UNRWA “indispensable” and rejecting any efforts to sideline it.
UNRWA warns that Israel’s crackdown on its operations could jeopardize the fragile ceasefire and deepen Gaza’s humanitarian crisis. UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini noted that in just three days after the ceasefire, the agency delivered food for 1 million people and distributed rations to 300,000.
“Preventing UNRWA from operating might sabotage the Gaza ceasefire,” Lazzarini warned, adding that failure to support the agency would betray the hopes of a population enduring unimaginable suffering.
Shortlink for this post: https://daysofpalestine.ps/?p=60327
