Israeli threat to ban UNRWA looms over Gaza: NYT
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A UN official questioned what the end goal of the Israeli occupation is if they completely remove the ability of UNRWA to save lives of Palestinians.
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UNRWA workers talk together in the playground of an UNRWA-run school that has been converted into a shelter for displaced Palestinians in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 25, 2023. (AFP)
According to The New York Times, if the Israeli government bans the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), it would cut off a vital source of aid for Palestinians in Gaza, providing food, water, and medicine to those affected by the ongoing war. This ban would worsen the already dire situation in Gaza, where experts are warning of impending famine. As a result, UN officials are preparing to shut down operations in both Gaza and the West Bank.
Jamie McGoldrick, who led the UN humanitarian efforts in Gaza and the West Bank until April, stated that such a move would severely impact the "already catastrophic situation." He questioned the Israeli government's intentions, asking, "If that is what the Israeli intention is — to remove any ability for us to save lives — you have to question what is the thinking and what is the end goal?"
Last month, the head of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, called for urgent international action to prevent the collapse of essential services for millions of Palestinian refugees, warning the agency faces the possibility of abandoning a "decades-long investment in human development and human rights" if it is dismantled.
He also cautioned that if Israeli legislation prevails, the humanitarian response in Gaza will crumble and deprive millions of Palestinian refugees of basic amenities in the West Bank, including the eastern part of al-Quds. It would also silence a voice testimony to the myriad traumas and injustices Palestinians have faced for decades, according to the agency's chief.
The future of UNRWA activities in Gaza and the West Bank is questionable as a result of new Israeli legislation. While the regulations do not specifically address UNRWA's work in these locations, Israeli officials have been ambiguous about their enforcement intentions.
Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel urged that Palestinian officials administer UNRWA in the West Bank and accused the organization of sheltering Palestinian Resistance fighters in Gaza, a claim repeated by "Israel" and for which it has not shown evidence. UN officials are planning to suspend operations because the rules would impede Israeli collaboration, which is required for UNRWA to provide help in these regions.
Louise Wateridge, a senior UNRWA official on the ground in Gaza warned that if such information cannot be shared with the Israelis, “then we have staff lives in danger,” explaining how more than 250 UNRWA staff had already been killed.
UNRWA warns of dire winter conditions as Gazans freeze to death
UNRWA reported earlier this week that more than 500 Palestinian families, currently living on Gaza's coast are grappling with tough winter conditions.
The relief organization has consistently warned of the worsening humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, due to food insecurity and the severe shortage of humanitarian aid, stressing that its teams are working to deliver aid to those in need, but emphasized that it is "nowhere near enough."
#شاهد | ظروف قاسية جداً يعيشها أهل #غزة في ظل الحرب ومأساة النزوح والخيام تحت المطر والبرد الشديد.#الميادين pic.twitter.com/cKDXqp8IS9
— قناة الميادين (@AlMayadeenNews) December 30, 2024
Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the Civil Defense in Gaza, Mahmoud Basal, detailed the suffering of Palestinians in the Strip, noting that a large number of Palestinians have crowded into displacement camps amid extremely cold weather.
Basal, speaking to Al Mayadeen, mentioned that Palestinians dying in the bombardment and of hunger, now face the risk of freezing to death, remarking that seven children and infants have so far died from cold.
The Civil Defense in Gaza reported on Tuesday that it had received hundreds of distress calls from forcibly displaced residents whose tents and shelters have been flooded by heavy rainfall, with many pleading for urgent help to rescue their children.
