Israel has officially notified the United Nations that it was cancelling the agreement that regulated its relations with the UN relief organisation for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) since 1967, the Israeli foreign ministry said.
Israel’s parliament last week and stopping Israeli authorities from cooperating with the organisation, which has said the ban will deepen the suffering of Palestinians, especially in Gaza.
Since the start of the Gaza war, Israel has said that UNRWA has been infiltrated by the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, accusing some of its staff of taking part in the October 7 attack on Israel.
Following an investigation by the UN oversight office, the United Nations said in August that , and had been fired. Later, a Hamas commander in Lebanon – killed last month in an Israeli strike – was found to have had an UNRWA job.
Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon said in a statement that despite the overwhelming evidence “we submitted to the UN highlighting how Hamas infiltrated UNRWA, the UN did nothing to address this reality”.
UN warns ban will ’cause the collapse’ of aid operations
The letter from Israel to the president of the UN General Assembly said the ban would come into effect “following a three-month period”.
Jonathan Fowler, an UNRWA spokesman, told Agence France-Presse the move would be disastrous for aid efforts.
“If this law is implemented, it would be likely to cause the collapse of the international humanitarian operation in the Gaza Strip — an operation of which UNRWA is the backbone,” Fowler said.
UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini wrote on X that an average of just 30 trucks daily were allowed into Gaza last month.
The UN has said around 500 trucks entered every day before the war.
The chief of the World Health Organization denounced Israel’s decision, saying it would not make the country safer while increasing civilian suffering in Gaza.
“Let me be clear: There is simply no alternative to UNRWA,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a video posted on X.
“This ban will not make Israel safer. It will only deepen the suffering of the people of Gaza and increase the risk of disease outbreaks,” Tedros added.
Israeli attacks continue in northern Gaza
On the same day of Israel’s notification to the UN, the health ministry in Gaza said Israeli forces are bombarding the last partially functioning hospital in north Gaza.
Vowing to stop Hamas militants from regrouping in northern Gaza, Israel launched a major air and ground assault nearly a month ago, roughly a year into the Gaza war.
Rescuers and UN agencies say hundreds of people have been killed and the area has been left desperately short of essential supplies.
“At this moment, occupation forces are continuing to violently bombard and destroy Kamal Adwan Hospital,” Gaza’s health ministry said.
Hamas said it had held talks with rival Palestinian faction Fatah in Cairo on “the war on Gaza and pathways for national action”.
