Displaying items by tag: UNRWA

The recent decision by the Israeli parliament to ban UNRWA from operating in Israel and Gaza has met with widespread condemnation. Israel has justified the decision by citing alleged links between some UNRWA staff and Hamas, but said it will continue cooperating with other UN agencies on humanitarian assistance for Palestinians. UNRWA has been labelled a terrorist organisation, and all official contact with the Israeli government has been blocked. This decision, opposed by the USA and other nations, raises concerns over worsening humanitarian conditions in Gaza, where more than 1.9 million have been displaced. A UNICEF spokesman has warned that without UNRWA, critical necessities such as food, water, and medicine could not be distributed effectively. That would likely cause the collapse of Gaza’s fragile humanitarian system.

As Israeli forces intensify their offensive centred on the Jabaliya refugee camp, over 400,000 civilians remain trapped in northern Gaza, according to the head of UNRWA. He expressed concerns about repeated evacuation orders and worsening humanitarian conditions, including hunger and the closure of key medical services. Israel's ongoing conflict with Hamas has led to widespread displacement, with hospitals forced to close and critical aid deliveries disrupted. The USA has called on Israel to urgently address the ‘catastrophic conditions’ in Gaza. Journalists and civilians continue to be casualties of the violence. Humanitarian groups have condemned the forced displacements, describing northern Gaza as turning into a ‘lifeless desert’ while southern regions struggle to cope with the influx of displaced people. There have been more than 42,000 Palestinian casualties since October 2023.

On 11 September the UN agency for refugees (UNRWA) reported that six of its employees had been killed in an Israeli airstrike on al-Jaouni school in central Gaza, which was sheltering thousands of displaced Palestinians. Altogether, eighteen were killed in the attack. Israel's military stated that the strike targeted terrorists planning attacks from the school, adding that measures were taken to avoid civilian casualties. The UN condemned the attack as a violation of international humanitarian law. The incident marks the fifth strike on the school in eleven months and the highest death toll among UN staff in the current conflict. Israel defended the airstrike, asserting that Hamas uses civilian buildings for military operations - a claim which Hamas denies. Meanwhile, there is evidence that Israel has been laying tarmac on a crucial border road: see