Unrwa is crucial to averting mass starvation in Gaza, says official

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees must remain "the backbone of any humanitarian response" for the 2 million people in Gaza if mass starvation is to be avoided, its director of planning, Sam Rose, has said.

- Patrick Wintour 

Israel is continuing to impede Unrwa convoys to northern Gaza, where 300,000 people are facing famine, he said. "Our space is continuing to be squeezed at a time when the international community urgently needs to get as much assistance as possible to people in the north." 

More than half the 16 countries that suspended funding to Unrwa the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East - after Israel claimed 12 of the 13,000 Unrwa staff in Gaza had taken part in the attack on Israel on 7 October have already decided to resume funding.

However, the US Congress has passed a law banning US funding of Unrwa - normally worth more than $300m (£236m) a year - until at least March 2025. Germany has provided €45m (£39m), but not as yet to Unrwa's Gaza operations. No decision has yet been made by the UK on funding resumption.

An independent report due to be published on 20 April written by the former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna is not expected to recommend the closure of Unrwabut provide clear procedures to ensure the organisation's neutrality.

There are fears among aid organisations that regardless of decisions on the resumption of funding and the opening of new aid crossings, Israel intends to act on its plans to try to squeeze Unrwa out of Gaza permanently.

Israel resents that the UN body provides welfare and humanitarian services for Palestinian refugees and their descendants. It claims the agency is entangled with Hamas, which has run Gaza since 2007.

Unrwa says it has to maintain indirect links with de facto authorities in Gaza to distribute aid, just as all UN aid agencies do around the world. Israel has briefed reporters that it aims to phase out Unrwa's operations across Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem.