1 staff member killed, 22 injured in Rafah UNRWA attack by 'Israel'
3 Min Read
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini urges the protection of the UN, its staff, and its premises and calls for an independent investigation.
-
UNRWA staff stands near a pool of blood at a UNRWA warehouse and distribution center in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, following an Israeli strike on March 13, 2024 (AFP)
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) confirmed that at least one staff member was killed and 22 were injured when the IOF struck a food distribution center in Rafah.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said, “Today’s attack on one of the very few remaining UNRWA distribution centers in the Gaza Strip comes as food supplies are running out, hunger is widespread and, in some areas, turning into famine.”
“Every day, we share the coordinates of all our facilities across the Gaza Strip with parties to the conflict. The Israeli Army received the coordinates including of this facility yesterday,” he continued.
Lazzarini further urged the protection of the UN, its staff, and its premises and called for an independent investigation.
"Since this war began, attacks against UN facilities, convoys and personnel have become commonplace in blatant disregard to international humanitarian law. I am calling once again for an independent inquiry into these violations and the need for accountability,” he expressed.
The illusion of 'UNRWA evil'
An UNRWA statement added that "165 UNRWA team members were killed including while in the line of duty; more than 150 UNRWA facilities were hit, some totally destroyed, among them many schools; more than 400 people killed while seeking shelter under the UN flag; UNRWA staff have reportedly been mistreated and humiliated while in Israeli detention centers."
Following weeks of a nonstop Israeli targeted campaign against the UN agency, UNRWA said in an unpublished report that some of its staffers were coerced into falsely stating that they had ties with the Palestinian Resistance movement - Hamas, and that they took part in Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7 last year, Reuters reported on Saturday.
The occupation entity alleged in January that 12 out of the 12,000 UNRWA members in Gaza participated in the October operation.
According to the news agency, UNRWA's report dated February said that its workers were subjected "to threats and coercion" by the Israeli authorities "while in detention and pressured to make false statements against the Agency," including that it has affiliations with Hamas and that "UNRWA staff members took part" in the Resistance operation in October 2023.
Last week, "Israel's" ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan claimed that UNRWA's work in Gaza was over, calling for the defunding and dismantling of the organization and accusing its staff of taking part in the October 7 events.
He stressed that the agency will "never again operate in Gaza," citing that its role is "finished and it must be replaced."
"UNRWA must be defunded and dismantled," he added.
