Israel’s parliament passed a law on Monday banning the UN aid agency UNRWA from operating in the country, alarming some of Israel’s Western allies who fear it will worsen the already dire humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.
Israel bans UN aid agency as its tanks trap 100,000 civilians in north Gaza
The Knesset members who drafted the bill cited the involvement of several thousand employees of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the October 7 2023 attack on southern Israel, as well as the membership of several employees in Hamas and other armed groups.
The legislative measures strip UNRWA employees of legal immunity within Israel, and the agency’s headquarters in East Jerusalem will be closed in three months.
The Israeli military said soldiers captured about 100 suspected Hamas militants during a raid on Kamal Adwan hospital in Jabalia camp. Hamas officials and medics denied the presence of militants in the hospital.
The Gaza Strip Health Ministry said Israeli airstrikes and bombings killed at least 19 people on Monday.
The Palestinian Emergency Services said some 100,000 people were stranded in Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun without medical care or food. The relief service said its operations were suspended because of a three-week Israeli offensive in northern Gaza, where Israel says it destroyed Hamas fighting forces at the start of a year-long war.
World reaction
Meanwhile, UN Secretary General António Guterres warned that the implementation of the laws “would be detrimental to the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as well as to peace and security in the region as a whole.” Guterres said in a statement:
“I am deeply concerned by the adoption today by the Knesset of Israel of two laws concerning the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which, if implemented, would likely prevent UNRWA from continuing its essential work in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, as mandated by the UN General Assembly.”
Concerned by the Knesset vote, the US State Department acknowledged that UNRWA plays a “critical” role in the distribution of humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy called the move “absolutely wrong,” while Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer fears that UNRWA’s “crucial work for the Palestinians could become impossible.”
Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide sharply criticised Monday’s decision by the Israeli parliament to ban the UNRWA from operating in Israel, which could affect its work in the Gaza Strip. Eide said in a statement:
“Norway strongly rejects the legislation adopted by the Knesset today, which will make it impossible for UNRWA to operate in Palestine. This is a serious decision that will severely impact civilian Palestinians. People who are suffering and living in deep need will be pushed even closer to the brink.”
The minister noted that this is “yet another example of Israel ignoring its international legal obligations.”
Eide emphasised that the Knesset decision will make the entire Middle East even more unstable. He also added:
“It will also undermine Israel’s security.”
Eide reiterated Norway’s strong support for UNRWA, both politically and economically, and promised that Israel’s decision would be reviewed at the United Nations.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said earlier that the ban was completely at odds with the expectations of the international community. He also added:
“This is a very serious decision that will have dramatic consequences for hundreds of thousands of civilians.”
The Norwegian Refugee Council also reacted strongly to the new law. The council’s Secretary General, Jan Egeland, was quoted as saying by Norway’s national broadcaster NRK:
“This is a complete disaster for an already tormented Palestinian population both in Gaza and in the West Bank.”
Yanis Varoufakis, Greece’s former finance minister, reposted the post:
“The governing coalition of war criminals in Israel passed the legislation to outlaw UNRWA today as part of the tsunami of political turmoil repression in Israeli society. Disgracefully, large parts of the so called liberal opposition supported this law and allow the criminal government of Netanyahu to run rougue. The humanitarian efforts of UNRWA are crucial to prevent mass extermination of Palestinians in Gaza amidst this worsening genocide. Precisely because of that it is targeted by those who seek to destroy Palestinians as a whole. The time for empty words has passed, the international community must act immediately to prevent this catastrophe.”
In turn, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that UNRWA employees are involved in terrorist activities against Israel and should be held accountable.
Ceasefire talks resume
Negotiations led by the US, Egypt and Qatar on a ceasefire resumed on Sunday after several failed attempts. Egypt’s president offered an initial two-day truce to exchange four Israeli hostages held by Hamas for some Palestinian prisoners, followed by talks on a permanent ceasefire within 10 days.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said mediators would resume talks in the coming days “in an attempt to move the deal forward,” without giving details.
Israel has repeatedly said the war will continue until Hamas is destroyed, while the Islamist movement has ruled out a cessation of hostilities until Israeli troops leave Gaza.
The war in Gaza has provoked a wider conflict in the Middle East, raising concerns about global oil supplies. Israel has been bombing in Lebanon and sending troops to the south as part of an offensive to dislodge Iran-backed Hezbollah, a Hamas ally.
The conflict has also led to rare direct clashes between regional nemeses Israel and Iran. Over the weekend, Israeli warplanes struck missile production facilities in Iran in retaliation for an Iranian missile salvo against Israel on October 1. Iran’s Foreign Ministry said Tehran would “use all available means” to respond to the Israeli attack over the weekend.
A Hamas attack in 2023 killed 1,200 people and more than 250 hostages were taken in Gaza, according to Israeli estimates. The death toll from Israel’s retaliatory air and ground offensive on Gaza has reached 43,020, Gaza’s health ministry said on Monday.
Hezbollah conducts 30 operations against Israel
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement said in a statement that its fighters conducted 30 different operations against Israeli forces on Monday.
Hezbollah said that the targets of Monday’s operations included settlements, military positions, aircraft, bases and concentrations of soldiers in northern occupied Palestine and southern Lebanon.
The operations were carried out using rockets, drones, mortars and artillery, and targeted Israeli soldiers’ positions on the contact lines and deep inside enemy positions, the report said.
Israeli media reported that more than 150 rockets were fired from Lebanon the previous day towards the occupied territories. The rockets caused large-scale fires in some areas, including the Israeli settlement of Kiryat Shmona.
According to local media, a major rocket attack also hit the Western Galilee. Al Mayadeen newspaper reported on Monday that 40 explosions were heard in various Israeli settlements and military bases.
Lebanese media emphasised that Hezbollah fired more than 30 rockets with high-explosive shells at the Nahariya and Western Galilee areas.
