Israel’s Attempt to Destroy UNRWA is Part of Its Starvation Strategy in Gaza

This attack could not come at a worse time for Palestinians. Hunger is widespread in Gaza, and famine is projected in the north by May

Israel’s vendetta against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (Unrwa) illustrates the callousness with which Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government has fought the war in Gaza. It also reflects an effort to use Hamas’s 7 October attack as an opportunity for demographic re-engineering.

... In January 2024, the Israeli government alleged that 12 members of Unrwa’s staff had taken part in the 7 October attack. Although Israel has been slow to provide evidence, Unrwa immediately dismissed 10 of the 12 (the other two were said to be dead) and vowed to hold accountable anyone implicated in the attack. The UN also launched an investigation. These steps are exactly what a responsible agency should take.

But the Israeli government saw a broader opportunity. It distributed “intelligence reports” that were said to show that 10% of Unrwa’s staff had unspecified “ties” to Islamist militant groups in Gaza. Israel then pressed governments to suspend funding for Unrwa, which many did, including the United States, Unrwa’s largest funder, and Britain. Some of these governments, including those of the EU, Canada and Australia, have now at least partially resumed funding. Britain and others are awaiting a report on the UN’s internal investigation. The budget deal earlier this month that kept the US government funded through the end of September barred any US funding of Unrwa for a year. (US military aid and arms sales continue, even as Israel bombs and starves Palestinian civilians.)

This attack on UNRWA could not come at a worse time for the Palestinian civilians of Gaza. As has been widely reported, hunger is widespread in Gaza, and famine is projected in the north by May if current trends persist.

With UNRWA’s 13,000 employees in Gaza, “No other entity has the capacity to deliver the scale and breadth of assistance that 2.2 million people in Gaza urgently need,” according to UN leaders. Eight of the biggest private humanitarian agencies working in Gaza said: “The plain reality is that Unrwa’s humanitarian role in this crisis is indispensable and cannot remotely be replaced by any other aid organization.”

Destroying Unrwa thus furthers the Netanyahu government’s starvation strategy for Gaza. Since the siege it imposed on 7 October, the Israeli government has been letting in just enough food to avoid widespread deaths but nowhere near enough to alleviate hunger or to dim the prospects of famine.

🔗SOURCE ➡️ The Guardian

3/14 —Sen. Chris Van Hollen: UNRWA is vital for distributing food+preventing starvation in Gaza. Any wrongdoing must be investigated, but we must restore funding NOW. Netanyahu's long wanted to dismantle UNRWA—doing so now would be a death sentence for thousands. I’m demanding action:

3/14 — 🇺🇳🇮🇱🇵🇸🚨‼️ Israeli army received the coordinates of UNRWA facilities yesterday and bombed them today!

3/9 — UNRWA Report Says Israel Coerced Some Agency Employees To Falsely Admit Hamas Links

3/6 — Skeptical About Israeli Claims, Washington Asked Turkiye To Foot UNRWA Bill: Report

2/23 — US Intel Has "Low Confidence" in Israeli Claim That 12 UN Staff Participated in Hamas Attack

2/5 — UN Launches Review of UNRWA ‘Neutrality’ Over Allegations of Staff Ties to Hamas

1/31 — Spain will continue to support UNRWA: FM

1/28 — France Is Latest To Suspend UNRWA Funding Amid ‘Exceptionally Serious’ Oct. 7 Allegations

1/27 — Western Nations Halt UNRWA Funding Over Alleged Hamas Ties

1/26 — UNRWA Sacks Staffers Who Allegedly Participated In Oct. 7 Attack; US Halts Funding [and Canada]

12/19 — Human Rights Watch Says Israel Is Using Starvation as Weapon of War

10/29 — Impeding Aid to Gaza Could Be Crime Under ICC Jurisdiction, Says Prosecutor

10/11 — Israel Violating Humanitarian Law in Gaza: Ex-HRW chief

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