How are starving Palestinians to be fed? Even if the bombing stopped tomorrow, the death toll would continue to climb without a proper resumption of aid. The international court of justice (ICJ) last week ordered Israel to ensure “the unhindered provision at scale … of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance” including food, water, fuel and medical supplies.
Yet a few days on, the Israel Defense Forces’ killing of seven foreign relief workers from World Central Kitchen and their Palestinian driver has halted not only the organisation’s work but other relief operations too. Aid drops are little more than a conscience-salving gesture that has, in some cases, led to further Palestinian deaths.
An Israeli government spokesperson told the BBC: “I do not believe there is an imminent famine.” The World Food Programme and the World Health Organization say otherwise. A US state department spokesperson said that famine is “quite possibly … present” in the north already. USAid officials have reportedly warned colleagues that the spread of hunger and malnutrition in Gaza is “unprecedented in modern history”, and that the rate of hunger-related deaths will soon accelerate.
UN agencies, international relief organisations and others agree that there is one entity capable of tackling this level of need: Unrwa, the relief agency for Palestinian refugees, which provides humanitarian assistance and basic services in Gaza and the West Bank, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. It is a critical part of social infrastructure in Gaza and a major employer. UN sources say Israel wants to dismantle it. Just over a week ago it told the agency that it was banned from delivering aid in the north.
Israel has frequently clashed with UN officials and organs, but has a particular antagonism to Unrwa, the only agency dedicated to a specific group of refugees. Unrwa is, like other UN bodies, flawed. But the case made against it does not justify its destruction.
Hours after the ICJ issued its interim ruling on the case against Israel – saying that it must prevent genocidal acts – Israel accused 12 Unrwa employees of involvement in the shocking 7 October attack by Hamas. It has since said more took part and suggests this is reflective of a broader problem of ties to militant groups. These are horrifying allegations and it is entirely right that they are being fully investigated. They do not delegitimise the entire agency. Unrwa employs in total about 13,000 Palestinians in Gaza, and gives all their names to Israel. It immediately sacked those accused.
While multiple donors suspended their funding, Canada, France, Finland, Australia, Sweden, Japan and the EU have rightly resumed it. The UK says that it is awaiting the outcome of an independent review, due later this month. The US – by far the largest donor, providing more than $400m last year – has banned funding until spring 2025. The Biden administration has said it will redirect funding to other agencies – which have warned they cannot match Unrwa’s work. Unrwa survived the previous withdrawal of funding by the Trump administration. But this is a grave blow.
It is time for other governments to make the case for the agency and increase their contributions. (China, a long-term supporter of Palestinians, gave $1m last year.) Most urgently, however, they must press for Unrwa deliveries to be allowed to resume, for a massive scaling up of aid and for guarantees that relief workers saving the lives of others will not endanger their own.
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