How Israel's Ban of UNRWA Could Worsen Already Acute Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza

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Ekaterina Blinova

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The Israeli parliament has barred the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) from operating in Israel and dramatically curtailed its activities in occupied Gaza.

UNRWA provided education, health care, relief and social services, infrastructure and camp improvement, microfinance and emergency response to Palestinians.

The Israeli laws targeting UNRWA have set a dangerous precedent and violate international law, the agency’s commissioner-general Philippe Lazzarini stated.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has stressed that «there is no alternative to UNRWA.»

Ireland, Norway, Slovenia and Spain condemned Israel’s legislation in a joint statement on Monday. The UK, Germany and the EU leadership expressed «grave concerns». US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the US is «deeply» concerned. Turkiye stated that «Israel aims to destroy the two-state solution» by banning UNRWA.

Palestinians look at the destruction after an Israeli strike on a school run by UNRWA, the U.N. agency helping Palestinian refugees, in Nuseirat, Gaza Strip, May 14, 2024. Qatar and Saudi Arabia on Sunday, June 2, 2024 condemned an Israeli parliamentary bill that seeks to label UNRWA, the main provider of aid for Palestinians in Gaza, a terrorist group, joining a growing number of nations opposed to the proposal - Sputnik International, 1920, 29.10.2024

UNRWA Head Denounces Knesset’s Ban on Agency’s Activity in Israel

The Gaza Strip has a population of approximately 2.1 million people, including 1.7 million Palestine Refugees. Gazans depend on educational, healthcare and other assistance provided by UNRWA during the war. Roughly 1.2 million Palestinians in Gaza depend on UNRWA’s food aid.

Humanitarian aid comes to Gaza through crossings which are now under control of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Israel will no longer issue permits for UNRWA to enter the region. UNRWA is the main UN agency working in the strip.

According to the UN’s October report, over 1.8 million people across Gaza are presently experiencing «high levels of acute food insecurity», including nearly 133,000 people facing «catastrophic food insecurity.»

At least 1.9 million people across the Gaza Strip are internally displaced. Only 17 out of 35 medical facilities are partially functioning in Gaza, while others have been destroyed. The UNRWA ban will further exacerbate the Gaza humanitarian crisis, the UN warns.