HEALTH, EDUCATION AT RISK
Israel has long been critical of UNRWA. It says UNRWA staff took part in the Oct 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel. The UN has said nine UNRWA staff may have been involved and were fired. A Hamas commander in Lebanon – killed in September by Israel – was also found to have had an UNRWA job.
The United States has said its ally Israel must ensure the new law does not further impede aid deliveries and critical services, including by UNRWA, in Gaza, which has been engulfed in a humanitarian crisis during the war between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas.
But it has also questioned UN contingency planning.
State Department officials met this week with the transition team of incoming US President Donald Trump – who takes office on Jan 20 – and raised concerns about how the crisis in Gaza could deepen once the UNRWA law is implemented, said a US official.
UNRWA, established by the UN General Assembly, provides aid, health and education services to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and neighboring Arab countries – Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.
Guterres said UNRWA’s unique role could not be replaced. UN officials say it is the health, education and social services UNRWA provides in the Palestinian territory that would suffer most as other agencies cannot match its ability to deliver such help.
