The UN’s secretary general, António Guterres, has urged Israel not to prohibit or condemn aid sent to Palestinians, stressing Israel’s responsibility to conform to international law. Recently, two laws were legislated by Israeli lawmakers that could potentially hinder the crucial assistance the primary United Nations organisation provides to inhabitants of Gaza by barring its operations in Israel, severing relations with it and categorising it as a terrorist organisation.
Guterres asserted that the UN Palestinian refugee agency, Unrwa, will face obstacles in undertaking tasks mandated by the UN if these laws are enacted. Guterres emphasised the crucial role of Unrwa, highlighting that there is no other entity that can replace it. He implored Israel to comply with its obligations under international and UN Charter law, as well as to respect the privileges and immunities of the United Nations. He underscored that such obligations cannot be reshaped through national legislation.
A second law was ratified by Israel’s parliament on Monday to sever connections with Unrwa, the primary UN aid provider in Gaza, and to label it as a terrorist organisation. This move poses a grave threat to the agency amidst a burgeoning humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The law bans associations between Israeli officials and Unrwa, and also withdraws legal immunities from Unrwa’s staff members. This follows an earlier law that halted all Unrwa activities in Israel.
Even though these laws would not come into effect immediately, they threaten to destabilise the already precarious aid system just as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is intensifying and the US is pressurising Israel to increase aid.
This serves as a new low in the strained relationship between Israel and Unrwa, given Israel’s claims of Unrwa’s links to Hamas militants. This also significantly impacts the agency and Palestinians in Gaza who have largely relied on it for aid during the year-long conflict.
Numerous casualties have been reported in Gaza and Lebanon. A reported Israeli attack on the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya led to the death of at least 55 Palestinians, with many women and children among the fatalities, according to WAFA, the official Palestinian news agency, and Hamas media. Meanwhile in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley, Israeli strikes resulted in over 60 deaths and a number of injuries, as per two security sources and the mayor of Baalbek.