UNRWA says Israel will no longer approve its food convoys to northern Gaza
- Head of UN Palestinian refugee agency called the move ‘outrageous’ and said Israel was obstructing life-saving aid during a man-made famine
- Claims that UNWRA staff were involved in October 7 Hamas attacks have prompted US and some others to pause funding, putting agency’s future in doubt
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“This is outrageous and makes it intentional to obstruct life-saving assistance during a man-made famine. These restrictions must be lifted,” UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini said on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
“By preventing UNRWA to fulfil its mandate in Gaza, the clock will tick faster towards famine & many more will die of hunger, dehydration + lack of shelter,” Lazzarini wrote on X.
Lazzarini said he regretted Washington’s decision to continue a ban on US funding for the agency until at least March 2025.
“We very much regret Washington’s decision,” Lazzarini was quoted as saying by Swiss newspaper Blick on Sunday. “It’s a halt for a limited period. Next year, we again have the possibility to apply pressure for a new decision.”
What is UNRWA, the main aid provider in Gaza that Israel accuses of militant links?
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday said the backlog of aid destined for Gaza is a moral outrage.
The only effective and efficient way to deliver heavy goods to meet Gaza’s humanitarian needs is by road and includes an exponential increase in commercial deliveries, Guterres said.
Speaking after meeting Egypt’s president and foreign minister in Cairo, Guterres also warned of the impact the war in Gaza was having around the globe.
“The daily assault on the human dignity of Palestinians is creating a crisis of credibility for the international community.
“Looking at Gaza, it almost appears that the four horsemen of war, famine, conquest and death are galloping across it,” he said.
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Israeli forces open fire on crowd of Palestinians seeking aid,, as Gaza death toll surpasses 30,000
Air and artillery strikes pounded targets in Gaza on Sunday as other world leaders added their voices to that of Guterres in appealing for an immediate ceasefire and a halt to Israeli plans to send troops into Rafah.
Talks aimed at a deal for a truce and release of hostages were taking place in Qatar but the heads of the Israeli and US spy agencies involved in the negotiations have now left the Gulf emirate for consultations, an informed source told Agence France-Presse.
While more than five months of war between Israel and Hamas have shattered Gaza, donations of aid have piled up in Egypt’s northern Sinai, with limited amounts sent in through the Rafah Crossing and the Israeli crossing of Kerem Shalom.
As hopes for a truce during Ramadan have faded and the risk of famine has increased, the United States and other countries have sought to use air drops and ships to deliver aid.
Sending in large quantities of aid requires Israel to remove the remaining obstacles and choke points to relief, Guterres said.
On social media, Israel’s military responded that the UN should scale up its logistics and “stop blaming Israel for its own failures”.
The health ministry in Gaza said on Sunday that another 84 people had been killed over the previous 24 hours, raising the total death toll in the territory during nearly six months of war to 32,226, most of them women and children.
Palestinian children, some with heads bandaged, others more severely wounded in the latest bombardments, were rescued from the rubble of collapsed buildings and rushed to al-Najjar hospital in Rafah.
Israel says 170 gunmen killed in Gaza hospital raid as UN chief urges ceasefire
Combat has flared for almost a week in and around Gaza’s biggest hospital complex, Gaza City’s al-Shifa.
The UN on Friday had reported “intensive exchanges of fire” involving Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups in the area.
The Hamas government media office said 190 people had been killed in the al-Shifa operation, and 30 nearby buildings destroyed.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said on Sunday that Israeli forces were also besieging Nasser and al-Amal hospitals in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis city.
The Red Crescent said messages broadcast from drones demanded that everyone in al-Amal leave naked, while forces blocked the gates of the hospital with dirt barriers.
In response to Agence France-Presse’s request for comment, the military said it was operating in the al-Amal area but “not currently … in the hospitals”.
Macron, in a phone call with Netanyahu on Sunday, repeated his opposition to any Israeli military operation in Rafah and said forced transfer of Rafah’s population would be “a war crime”.
Macron urged Israel to open all crossing points into Gaza and said he intended to bring a draft resolution to the UN Security Council calling for “an immediate and lasting ceasefire”.
China and Russia veto US-led UN resolution on Gaza ceasefire
Meanwhile, tensions have grown between Israel and Washington, which provides billions of dollars in military aid to Israel but has become increasingly vocal about the war’s impact on civilians.
Before taking off for an official visit to the US, Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said his focus will include “preserving the qualitative military edge” and “our ability to obtain platforms and munitions”.
He is set to meet Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin and other senior US officials.
A source of tension between the two countries is Israel’s plan to extend its ground invasion into Rafah city on the Egyptian border.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who leads a coalition including religious and ultranationalist parties, has vowed to go ahead with a Rafah invasion even without Washington’s support.
