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Photo: Mahmoud Issa / REUTERS

Recently there was a bit of a stir surrounding the UN Palestinian relief agency UNRWA. Nevertheless, it is one of the few organizations that can still distribute aid to war zones in Gaza. At least so far. UNRWA has now accused Israel of having banned its organization's food deliveries to the north of the Gaza Strip.

"Despite the tragedy unfolding before our eyes, the Israeli authorities have informed the UN that they will not authorize any further UNRWA food convoys to the northern Gaza Strip," wrote UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini on Sunday in the online service X. He named the “unheard of” step. But his agency remains “the most important lifeline for Palestinian refugees.”

UNRWA spokeswoman Juliette Touma said the decision was made on Sunday during a meeting with Israeli military officials. No further justification was given. “That’s another nail in the coffin,” says Touma.

The Israeli Authority for Civil Affairs in the Occupied Territories (Cogat) did not initially comment when asked.

The Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, called on Israel to “urgently” reconsider the decision. "Stopping UNRWA from bringing food is essentially denying starving people the opportunity to survive," he explained.

After more than five months of war between Israel and the Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas, the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory is catastrophic. According to the UN World Food Program (WFP), the 2.4 million Palestinians living there are on the brink of famine.

Report on UNRWA is due to be ready in April

Hamas, classified as a terrorist organization by the USA and the EU, triggered the war with a major attack on Israel on October 7th. According to Israeli information, fighters killed around 1,160 people and kidnapped around 250 others as hostages in the Gaza Strip. 130 of them are still being held.

UNRWA hit the headlines in January because twelve employees were suspected of being involved in the Hamas attack. After the serious allegations, the organization separated from the affected employees and founded an independent committee to assess the neutrality of the organization. An interim report last week revealed “critical areas,” but specific details were not made public. The final report is expected on April 20th.

According to its own information, UNRWA is the largest employer in the Gaza Strip with around 13,000 employees. Among other things, it runs clinics, schools and aid programs and procures and distributes food. Numerous countries, including Germany, stopped their financial support for UNRWA after the allegations in January.

jok/AFP