Within three months, Unrwa staff will not be allowed to communicate with Israeli officials, which will significantly restrict the organization’s capacity to function in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
For Unrwa to provide aid into Gaza, collaboration with the Israeli military, which controls all borders into the region, is crucial. It is the principal United Nations agency operating in the region.
The US and the UK are among the nations that have voiced grave concerns about the action.
Matthew Miller, the spokesperson for the US State Department, asked Israel to reevaluate the prohibition, stating that Unrwa is currently “irreplaceable” in delivering.
The restrictions run the risk of making Unrwa’s “essential work for Palestinians impossible, jeopardizing the entire international humanitarian response in Gaza,” according to UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
“Devastating consequences for Palestine refugees” will result from the action, according to UN chief Antonio Guterres.
Nearly all of the more than two million residents of the enclave rely on the organization’s assistance and services.
