UN Palestinian agency says Israel ban likely to cause 'collapse' of Gaza aid work

The UN agency for supporting Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said on Monday that Israel's ban on its operations would lead to the "collapse" of humanitarian work in the war-torn Gaza Strip.

"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," Jonathan Fowler, an UNRWA spokesman, told AFP after Israel formally told the United Nations it was cancelling its ties with the agency.

The ban, which sparked global condemnation including from key Israeli backer the United States, should come into force in late January, with the UN Security Council warning it would have severe consequences for millions of Palestinians.

Israel has accused a dozen employees of the agency, UNRWA, of participating in the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas, the deadliest in Israeli history.

UNRWA fired nine employees in the wake of the attack that sparked the Gaza war following the accusations.

"On the instruction of Foreign Minister Israel Katz, the ministry of foreign affairs notified the UN of the cancellation of the agreement between the State of Israel and UNRWA," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

"UNRWA, the organisation whose employees participated in the October 7 massacre and many of whose employees are Hamas operatives, is part of the problem in the Gaza Strip and not part of the solution," Katz was quoted as saying.

Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed 43,341 people in Gaza, a majority of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry, which the United Nations considers to be reliable.

"It would also be likely to cause the collapse of essential services provided by UNRWA in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, including education, healthcare, and sanitation," said Fowler, the UNRWA spokesman.

But Israel has dismissed the argument on Gaza, saying only a part of aid was being delivered into the territory by UNRWA.

"The State of Israel is committed to international law and will continue to facilitate the entrance of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip in a manner that does not harm the security of the citizens of Israel," Katz said.

Residents of Nur Shams camp in the occupied West Bank were fearful for the future after an Israeli raid last week damaged the UNRWA office there.

The 13,000 inhabitants of the camp near the northern city of Tulkarem depend heavily on UNRWA.

"For us, it's UNRWA or nothing," said Shafiq Ahmad Jad, who runs a phone shop in the camp.

"For the refugees...they look to UNRWA as their mother," said Hanadi Jabr Abu Taqa, an agency official in charge of the northern West Bank.

"So imagine if they lost their mother."

A series of probes, including one led by former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna, found some "neutrality related issues" at UNRWA but stressed that Israel had not provided evidence for its chief allegations.

An internal probe found that nine employees "may have been involved in the armed attacks of 7 October".

UNRWA was established in 1949 after the first Arab-Israeli conflict following Israel's creation in 1948.

The agency, which began its operations on May 1, 1950, was tasked with assisting some 750,000 Palestinians who had fled or been expelled from their homes during the war.

Its mandate has since been repeatedly extended in the absence of a solution for Palestinian refugees.