UNRWA Archives - Page 2 of 4

Israel’s new laws banning UNRWA already taking effect

·February 3, 2025·7 min read

If implemented, the two new laws passed in October will simultaneously prohibit Israeli authorities from contacting UNRWA and ban the agency from operating in war-ravaged Gaza and East Jerusalem and the West Bank, according to UNRWA spokesperson Jonathan Fowler. As such, poised to change are Israel’s role as the occupying...

Gazans depend on us for ‘sheer survival’ insists UNRWA

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·January 31, 2025·3 min read

The development came as more than 462,000 people are estimated to have crossed from south Gaza to the north since the opening of the Salah ad Din and Al Rashid roads on Monday. The UN and humanitarian partners are assisting those on the move by providing water, high-energy biscuits and...

UNRWA ‘continues to deliver’ as Israeli ban comes into effect

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·January 31, 2025·1 min read

“UNRWA continues to deliver assistance and services to the communities we serve,” the agency said in a post on the social media platform X. “Our clinics across the occupied West Bank including East Jerusalem are open while the humanitarian operation in Gaza continues.” No official word Last October, the Israeli...

Israel UNRWA ban will undermine Gaza ceasefire, Security Council hears

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·January 29, 2025·5 min read

Briefing ambassadors in New York on Tuesday, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini warned that the laws passed in October last year in the Knesset jeopardize the lives of millions of Palestinians and risks undermining the fragile ceasefire in Gaza. They require that UNRWA cease its activities in the territory of the...

UNRWA chief: Ceasefire is the start, not the solution

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·January 20, 2025·2 min read

Speaking to reporters at UN Headquarters in New York, Mr. Lazzarini emphasised that the agreement is only the first step in addressing the region’s overwhelming humanitarian challenges. He joined UN Secretary-General António Guterres in urging all parties to fully implement the ceasefire and ensure unrestricted humanitarian access to meet urgent...

UNRWA chief renews call for probe into attacks on humanitarians in Gaza

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·December 31, 2024·4 min read

Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini made the appeal in a statement posted on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter. He noted that 15 months after the war began in Gaza, “horrors continue unabated under the world’s watch”. 258 UNRWA staff killed Citing latest information from his teams, Mr. Lazzarini said that 258...

UN General Assembly demands Gaza ceasefire and hostage release, affirms ‘full support’ for UNRWA

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·December 13, 2024·3 min read

The actions were taken at the Assembly’s resumed 10th emergency special session, following the failure of the Security Council to adopt a resolution demanding such a ceasefire and full hostage release. Despite securing 14 votes in favour, that text put forward by the 10 elected members of the Council, failed...

Gaza: ‘People losing hope’ as aid access is refused to north, warns UNRWA

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·November 13, 2024·2 min read

Briefing reporters in Geneva from central Gaza, UNRWA senior emergency officer Louise Wateridge warned that amid looming famine in the Gaza Strip and as winter approaches, those forcibly displaced are sleeping on the floor in makeshift shelters surrounded by sewage. “We are extremely concerned when the rains come to the...

Middle East crisis: Live updates as General Assembly meets on UNRWA and more

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·November 7, 2024·1 min read

Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini made an impassioned plea to protect the UN agency for Palestine refugees at the General Assembly’s meeting on UNRWA’s fate days after Israel informed the world body of new laws to ban it as bombings and displacement continued on Wednesday across Gaza and Lebanon, with UN officials...

Aid restrictions and dismantling UNRWA will compound Gazans’ suffering

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·November 5, 2024·3 min read

The Israeli Parliament, known as the Knesset, recently approved two laws banning UNRWA from operating in its territory and prohibiting officials from having any contact with the agency. Israel has officially informed the President of the UN General Assembly of the adoption of the new legislation. The letter says all...

Potentially ‘deadly’ consequences could arise from Israel’s UNRWA ban: UNICEF

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·November 4, 2024·4 min read

The Israeli Parliament, known as the Knesset, adopted two bills on Monday banning UN Palestine refugee agency UNRWA from operating in its territory and prohibiting authorities from having any contact with it. “UNRWA is indispensable in delivering the urgent, life-saving assistance that 2.2 million people in Gaza urgently need,” UNICEF...

Israeli laws blocking UNRWA – devastating humanitarian impact for Palestinians?

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·October 31, 2024·5 min read

What do the laws say? The bills, approved overwhelmingly by Israeli parliamentarians (92 in favour, 10 against) on Monday, would prohibit the country’s authorities from having any contact with UNRWA, and bar the agency from operating within Israel itself. The passage of aid into Gaza and the West Bank requires close...