Israel said Monday that it was “encouraging” other UN agencies and NGOs to take over the assistance provided in war-ravaged Gaza by UNRWA, after Israel cut ties with the aid agency.”We, the state of Israel, are working to find substitutes to the work of UNRWA inside Gaza,” Daniel Meron, Israel’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, told reporters.Israel, he said, was actively “encouraging UN agencies and NGOs to take over”. For more than seven decades, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees has provided essential aid and assistance to Palestinian refugees.But after Israel accused UNRWA of providing cover for Hamas militants and charged that some staff members took part in the October 7, 2023 attacks, legislation severing ties with the agency came into force at the end of January.UNRWA has been banned from operating on Israeli soil, and contact between it and Israeli officials is forbidden.The move sparked fears that it would hamper vital services delivered by the lead agency in coordinating aid to Gaza, ravaged by 17 months of war.But so far, UNRWA has continued to provide aid, saying Sunday that since late January it had “delivered food assistance to the entire population of the Gaza Strip”.During the period it also provided “over 412,000 health consultations and reached more than half a million people with shelter and non-food items”.UN agencies and other aid organisations have repeatedly said that there was no replacement in Gaza for UNRWA, which is also the main provider of basic public services in the strip, including education and social services for registered Palestinian refugees.But Meron said Israel was urging other organisations to step in, “each one in its own field that they specialise in”.For instance, he said, the UN’s World Food Programme could deal with food, while “others deal with other issues”.”There has been serious work… with the different agencies and making sure that the people of Gaza will not suffer because of the this… switch from UNRWA to other agencies,” he said.He did not provide further details about other agencies contacted or how they had responded to the Israeli request.
Israel said Monday that it was “encouraging” other UN agencies and NGOs to take over the assistance provided in war-ravaged Gaza by UNRWA, after Israel cut ties with the aid agency.”We, the state of Israel, are working to find substitutes to the work of UNRWA inside Gaza,” Daniel Meron, Israel’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, told reporters.Israel, he said, was actively “encouraging UN agencies and NGOs to take over”. For more than seven decades, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees has provided essential aid and assistance to Palestinian refugees.But after Israel accused UNRWA of providing cover for Hamas militants and charged that some staff members took part in the October 7, 2023 attacks, legislation severing ties with the agency came into force at the end of January.UNRWA has been banned from operating on Israeli soil, and contact between it and Israeli officials is forbidden.The move sparked fears that it would hamper vital services delivered by the lead agency in coordinating aid to Gaza, ravaged by 17 months of war.But so far, UNRWA has continued to provide aid, saying Sunday that since late January it had “delivered food assistance to the entire population of the Gaza Strip”.During the period it also provided “over 412,000 health consultations and reached more than half a million people with shelter and non-food items”.UN agencies and other aid organisations have repeatedly said that there was no replacement in Gaza for UNRWA, which is also the main provider of basic public services in the strip, including education and social services for registered Palestinian refugees.But Meron said Israel was urging other organisations to step in, “each one in its own field that they specialise in”.For instance, he said, the UN’s World Food Programme could deal with food, while “others deal with other issues”.”There has been serious work… with the different agencies and making sure that the people of Gaza will not suffer because of the this… switch from UNRWA to other agencies,” he said.He did not provide further details about other agencies contacted or how they had responded to the Israeli request.
