Israel has officially notified the United Nations that it is severing ties with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), a move that is expected to lead to reduced aid distribution across the war-torn Gaza Strip, Israel's Channel 12 reported.

Israel's UN envoy, Danny Danon, confirmed that Tel Aviv had notified the UN of the cessation of work with UNRWA, and claimed that Hamas controlled it.

Danon said, "Tel Aviv continues to work with humanitarian organizations, but not with organizations that serve terrorism," as he put it.

Last Monday, the Israeli Knesset finally approved, by a majority of 92 votes out of 120, a ban on UNRWA activities in the occupied Palestinian territories, in a move condemned by European and Western countries and international organizations.

According to the law, “UNRWA’s activity in East Jerusalem will cease, and its powers will be transferred to the responsibility and control of Israel.” The 1967 agreement that allowed UNRWA to operate in Israel will also be cancelled, and the agency’s activities in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories will cease, and any contact between Israeli officials and its employees will be prohibited.

Israel claims that UNRWA employees contributed to the October 7, 2023, “Al-Aqsa Intifada” attack, and that “the agency’s education system supports terrorism and hatred,” which has been proven false.

UNRWA denied Israel's allegations, and the United Nations confirmed that the agency is neutral and focuses exclusively on supporting refugees.

UNRWA supports Palestine refugees in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, as well as in neighbouring countries.

Concerns

On Sunday, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini commented on the Israeli law banning the agency's work, saying, "The focus should be on reaching an agreement to end the conflict in the Gaza Strip, rather than on banning the agency or finding alternatives to it."

Lazzarini added, in a statement published on his account on the X platform, that "dismantling UNRWA, in the absence of a viable alternative, will deprive Palestinian children of education."

“Why are children and their education not mentioned in any discussions when experts or politicians talk about banning or replacing UNRWA?” he asked.

He stressed that "the children of Gaza are now losing a second year of education," and pointed out that "UNRWA is the only UN agency that provides education directly in its schools. In the West Bank, about 50,000 children receive education in these schools."

As of October 2023, UNRWA provided education to more than 300,000 boys and girls in Gaza, which represents about half of the total school children in the Strip, according to Lazzarini.