UNRWA Chief Says West Bank Office Destroyed by IDF

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Svetlana Ekimenko

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On October 28, the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, passed two bills designed to prohibit the activities of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in areas under Israeli control. The Jewish state has repeatedly claimed that the UN agency’s staff have ties to Palestinian movement Hamas.

Israeli soldiers have reduced an office of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Refugees (UNRWA) in the Nur Shams camp of the West Bank to rubble, according to the agency’s chief.

Philippe Lazzarini went on social media to post an image of the building that IDF bulldozers have rendered “unusable.” He noted that the office had served as a “hub to deliver basic services to more than 14,000 Palestine Refugees in the camp, including learning for children, health, sanitation and social protection.”

Lazzarini added that during the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) military operation “roads, water, electricity networks were also destroyed in the camp.”

“Once again, United Nations facilities are being routinely disregarded while they must be protected at all times, including in times of conflict,” Lazzarini wrote.

The Israeli military has denied responsibility for damaging the building. An IDF statement claimed that “terrorists planted explosives in the proximity of the UNRWA offices that were then detonated in an attempt to harm IDF soldiers.”

Earlier in the week, Israeli lawmakers passed a law banning UNRWA from operating in the country.

Lazzarini hit out at the Knesset’s decision, blasting it as «collective punishment» that violates the UN Charter.

«The vote by the Israeli Parliament (Knesset) against [UNRWA] this evening is unprecedented and sets a dangerous precedent. It opposes the UN Charter and violates the State of Israel’s obligations under international law,» Lazzarini said on X.

The UNRWA chief added that the bills would only «deepen the suffering of Palestinians,» especially in the Gaza Strip.

The IDF currently controls the crossings through which humanitarian aid enters Gaza. Israel will no longer issue permits for UNRWA – the main UN agency working in the strip – to enter the region.

At least 43,204 Palestinians have been killed and 101,641 wounded from Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip since the escalation of the conflict after October 7, 2023, according to the enclave’s health ministry.