UN AGENCY TARGET OF ISRAELI CAMPAIGN, SAYS ARAB LEAGUE
▶ Regional body warns suspension of UNRWA funding ‘robs Palestinians of any glimmer of hope’
Israel has conducted a “systematic campaign” against the UN aid agency in Gaza, which could deepen the humanitarian crisis, Arab nations have warned.
The Arab League said yesterday that claims of a small number of UNRWA staff playing a role in the Hamas attack on October 7, which killed about 1,200 people, were levelled and publicised before a proper investigation could take place.
The US, UK, Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Italy and Netherlands suspended millions of dollars in funding at the weekend over claims that 12 staff played a role in the attacks.
The UNRWA yesterday said it had sacked nine people, confirmed one had died and said the identities of the remaining two were being investigated.
The Cairo-based Arab League said there had been a “systematic campaign and incitement against the UNRWA, including the terrorism charge levelled against its employees without … an investigation”.
“The suspension of financing to the agency robs the Palestinians from any glimmer of hope, undermines peace prospects and pushes the region into further instability,” it added.
About 300,000 children attend UNRWA centres, which have been closed since the start of a war that has killed more than 26,400 Palestinians.
The agency treats hundreds of thousands of people at medical clinics, most of which have closed since the war started.
Jordan urged donors to keep financial channels open.
“Even if the Israeli accusations are proven, punishing refugees is not allowed,” Rafik Kharfan, head of the Palestinian Affairs Department at Jordan’s Foreign Ministry, said on Saturday.
UN chief Antonio Guterres warned yesterday of the imminent collapse of aid work.
“Swift action” had been taken against the accused workers, he said. “Any UN employee involved in acts of terror will be held accountable, including through criminal prosecution,” he added.
The number of hepatitis A cases in overcrowded camps in Gaza is soaring and the UN said overcrowding is so severe that hundreds of people have to share sanitation, making it impossible to control the disease.
Ruba Abu Al Khaeer’s son, who is 14, contracted hepatitis while living in an UNRWA shelter. The disease attacks the liver and can cause months of illness, but the elderly and people with underlying health conditions are most at risk.
“My son, Mohammed, was healthy, but suddenly he started to suffer from fever, nausea and vomiting,” she told The National.
Ms Al Khaeer believed her son had a gastrointestinal infection, common in shelters because of dirty water, poorly cooked food, and exposure to pollution. She and her family live in a small classroom in a UNRWA school in Deir Al Balah, in the centre of Gaza.
“I started giving him medication for intestinal cleansing, but other symptoms started to appear, such as yellowing of his eyes,” she said.
“So, I feel worried as I know that yellowing is one of the hepatitis symptoms.”
Sanitation is minimal in the camps, with human waste and rubbish an unmanageable problem.
“We are living in unhealthy conditions. My father passed away in this shelter due to the lack of cleanliness. What should I do? Should I wait for my son’s health to deteriorate further?” Ms Al Khaeer said.
Dr Bahaa Al Alool, who works at the UNRWA clinic in
Deir Al Balah, is monitoring Mohammed’s case and said the primary reason for hepatitis is dirty water and overcrowded shelters.
He said patients had to stay in a clean environment.
“Unfortunately, shelters have become an environment that spreads the disease in Gaza due to overcrowding, especially when sewage overflows in these small camps and shelters.
“The only medication I have here is for reducing fever, but hepatitis patients need vitamins to strengthen the immune system, which, unfortunately, is not available at the clinic,” he said.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza announced this month that “the spread of hepatitis A is a result of overcrowding and low hygiene levels in displacement areas in the Gaza Strip”.
It said more than half a million Gazans, or about a quarter of the population in the enclave, fell ill with diseases between the end of October and January 8, with more than 8,000 hepatitis A cases, including 6,723 cases in children.
About 235,000 people contracted pneumonia and at least 300,000 fell ill with diarrhoea from contaminated water, which can kill the vulnerable through dehydration, and skin conditions.
Dr Bahaa Al Alool at the UNRWA clinic in Deir Al Balah says he is short of the medication needed to treat hepatitis properly