Inside an Unrwa warehouse full of aid blocked from Gaza

 

While aid has started to trickle into Gaza, the United Nations is calling for a ‘meaningful’ amount to be allowed in to meet the needs of 2.1 million people in the Palestinian territory. Israel imposed an 11-week blockade in early March, saying Hamas was seizing deliveries for fighters – a charge the group denies. While the blockade has been eased due to growing international pressure, humanitarian agencies say aid has yet to reach civilians

US backs Israel's ban on Unrwa Gaza aid in international court of justice hearing

 

Joshua Simmons, the US state department's legal adviser, has said Israel 'has no obligation to permit Unrwa specifically to provide humanitarian assistance', adding that there are serious concerns about the impartiality of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. Israel banned all cooperation with Unrwa’s activities in Gaza and the occupied West Bank this year, claiming the agency had been infiltrated by Hamas, an allegation that is fiercely contested

‘Outrageous’: Israeli parliament approves bill to ban UNRWA

 The agency for Palestinian refugees, considered a lifeline for Gaza, has been under Israeli attacks since the war began last year.

The Israeli parliament has approved a controversial bill to ban the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), considered a lifeline for Gaza, from operating on Israeli territory and areas under Israel’s control.

The legislation, which will not take effect immediately, risks collapsing the already fragile aid distribution process at a moment when the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is worsening and Israel is under increased pressure to allow in aid supplies.

Israeli generals' plan

The plan, conceived by retired major general and former head of the National Security Council Giora Eiland and presented to the Knesset by a group of several retired Israeli generals, proposed giving approximately 300,000 Palestinians a one-week evacuation period to depart from the northern third of Gaza before designating it a military exclusion zone. Under this strategy, anyone remaining in the area would be considered a combatant. The plan would then implement a complete siege that would block essential supplies until militant surrender, denying all essential supplies including medicine, fuel, food, and water, representing a radical shift in Israeli military strategy for northern Gaza.^[1][2]

UN official promises staff in Gaza ‘not going to back down’ after 6 killed

William Deere, an UNRWA official based in Washington, DC, says Israel’s war on Gaza “has absolutely no bottom to it” after six UN workers were among 18 killed at a shelter for war-displaced Palestinians.

Guterres says aid to Gaza ‘requires Israel removing’ obstacles

Israeli forces have launched “violent” ground and air attacks on Khan Younis and bombed homes in Rafah and Deir el-Balah, killing at least 15 Palestinians, according to media reports. United Nations chief Guterres says delivering the necessary aid to famine-threatened Gaza

• Israel has informed the UN that it will no longer approve UNRWA food convoys to north Gaza, says agency head, where 70 percent of people face highest level of food scarcity.

What impact would the collapse of UNRWA have on the humanitarian situation in Gaza?

The main UN agency set up to assist Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, is facing a cash crisis. UNRWA has said it will run out of money in the coming days, after major donor nations suspended their funding.

Head of UN agency for Palestinian refugees says agency at 'breaking point

The head the UN agency for Palestinian refugees says the situation has "reached breaking point." Israel has accused several UNRWA workers of directly participating in the October 7th terror attacks. The UN responded by launching a probe into the allegations. The UN agency says the accusations have caused 16 major donor countries to suspend 450 million dollars worth of funding, which could severely hamper operations in Gaza as soon as next month. A recent US intel report said that some of the accusations were credible, but could not be independently verified, while also casting doubt on claims of wider links to militant groups.

Why are Israel and its Western allies targeting UNRWA?

Is Israel trying to associate Hamas and UNRWA to mobilise anti-Palestinian sentiment in the US?

About 20 countries have announced suspension of funding to UNRWA, the agency that has been providing services to Palestinian refugees since 1950.

The official reason for the suspension was Israel’s accusation that a dozen UNRWA employees in Gaza had participated in the October 7 Hamas attacks.

UN’s Guterres to meet with donors to UNRWA, a ‘lifeline’ for civilians in Gaza

Can the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees survive?

 UNRWA warns of chronic funding shortfalls as it launches $1.6bn appeal.

Nearly six million people rely on UNRWA operations – the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East.

It provides food aid, healthcare, education and other essential services in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the occupied Palestinian territories.