UNRWA vows continuation of Gaza operations ‘despite risks, hostile environment’

The head of the United Nations’ agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) says the organization will continue to operate in the Gaza Strip despite the Israeli regime’s expulsion of its staff from the occupied West Bank and enactment of laws banning the relief agency.

Speaking at an official meeting in the Egyptian capital of Cairo on Monday, Philippe Lazzarini said UNRWA “now faces significant operational challenges” but the “courage and commitment of our Palestinian staff have allowed UNRWA schools and health clinics to remain open” in the occupied West Bank.

Lazzarini underlined that a core team of international staff remains in Gaza, but Israel no longer facilitates their entry and exit via the Karim Abu Salem crossing.

“It is unclear to what extent our ability to operate will be further constrained by the prohibition on contact between UNRWA representatives and Israeli officials. What is clear is that the agency will stay and deliver its mandate until it is prevented from doing so,” the UN agency’s chief said.

“We will do this despite the considerable risks to our staff in an increasingly hostile operational environment.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed on Monday the immediate enforcement of the UNRWA law, which was passed by the regime’s parliament, known as the Knesset.

Back in October 2024, the Knesset passed two laws that called for ending UNRWA's operations and prohibiting Israeli authorities from having any contact with the agency.

The regime had ordered UNRWA to vacate all premises in the occupied al-Quds and cease operations in them by January 30, 2025.

Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump also signed executive orders to cut funding for UNRWA.

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The agency has for decades provided essential humanitarian services, including health facilities, schools and vocational training centers, to Palestinian refugees, notably in Occupied Palestinian Territory, including the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Following the approval of the bill in the Israeli parliament, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres stressed the central role that UNRWA plays in the delivery of aid and said that the ban would have "devastating consequences."

The acting head of the UN aid coordination office, Joyce Msuya, also called the decision "dangerous and outrageous" while Lazzarini had said that the bill will "increase the suffering of the Palestinians and is nothing less than collective punishment."

Washington's halt to funding for UNRWA comes as the US rushed billions of dollars in military aid to the Israeli regime throughout the Gaza war that was launched in October 2023.

Over 76,000 tons of military equipment, the vast majority of them from the US, were delivered to Israel in the course of the Gaza genocide, according to the latest figures released by the Israeli ministry of military affairs.

The war claimed the lives of at least 48,271 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 111,693 others.

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