UNRWA urges Security Council to ensure its survival

The head of the UN agency that has helped millions of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank for decades has urged the Security Council to ensure its survival as Israel again demanded its dissolution, accusing the agency of becoming part of Hamas’ “terror war machine”.

Philippe Lazzarini told the council that dismantling the agency known as UNRWA would deepen Gaza’s humanitarian crisis and speed up the onset of famine.

International experts have warned of imminent famine in northern Gaza and said half the territory’s 2.3 million people could be pushed to the brink of starvation if the six-month Israeli-Hamas war intensifies.

Mr Lazzarini said ending the agency’s operations also would have other “lasting repercussions” on Gaza, leaving half a million children without education and “fuelling anger, resentment and endless cycles of violence”.

In addition, it would jeopardise the transition when the war ends by depriving Gaza’s population of essential services, including health care, food and other humanitarian aid, he said.

Israeli Ambassador Gilad Erdan claimed, without providing evidence, that UNRWA has been totally infiltrated by Hamas, which controlled Gaza before the war. He also accused UNRWA of being part of a Palestinian plot to annihilate Israel and becoming “the world’s biggest advocate for a one-state solution” run by Palestinians.

“Today in Gaza, UNRWA is Hamas and Hamas is UNRWA,” Mr Erdan said.

“Israel cannot and will not allow UNRWA to continue in Gaza as it did in the past,” he added, telling the council there are alternative aid organizations and UN agencies that can help Palestinians in the territory.

The clash over UNRWA follows Israeli allegations that 12 of the agency’s 13,000 workers in Gaza participated in the surprise October 7 Hamas attacks in southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people and forced 250 others into captivity.

The allegations led to the suspension of contributions to UNRWA by the United States and more than a dozen other countries.

It also sparked two investigations – one by the UN’s internal watchdog of the 12 UNRWA staff who have been fired and a second, independent probe into how the UN agency ensures its neutrality.

A report on the second investigation is to be released on Monday, and Mr Lazzarini pledged to implement its recommendations and strengthen safeguards to ensure UNRWA is neutral.

He argued that the real aim of Israel’s efforts to end UNRWA’s operations is “about ending the refugee status of millions of Palestinians”.

He called allegations that UNRWA is perpetuating their refugee status “false and dishonest”.