UNRWA Condemns Israel for Crippling Gaza Relief Efforts as Aid Falls Far Short

Updated by Faith Barbara N Ruhinda at 1408 EAT on Friday 14 November 2025

The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has accused Israel of deliberately obstructing its humanitarian operations in Gaza and restricting the entry of essential aid, as Palestinians brace for heavy rains and winter with limited shelter and relief supplies after more than two years of conflict.

“Safeguarding UNRWA’s mandate and operations is required under international law; it is vital to the survival of millions of Palestinians and essential for a political solution,” UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini told the UN General Assembly’s Fourth Committee on Thursday.

He cited recent conclusions by the UN Commission of Inquiry and provisional rulings by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which call on Israel to ease restrictions on the agency and facilitate humanitarian access.

Lazzarini also warned at a news conference at UN headquarters in New York that severe funding shortages were jeopardizing UNRWA’s ability to maintain essential services, urging donor countries to increase contributions so the agency can continue operating in Gaza following the suspension of U.S. funding.

“We run week by week, month by month. As of today, I know we will be able to process our salaries for November, but we have no visibility on whether we will be able to do so in December,” he said.

Israel has barred UNRWA from operating on its territory after alleging that some of the agency’s staff participated in the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, which sparked the current war. UNRWA and UN investigators have said Israel has not provided evidence to substantiate the allegations, and several donor countries paused funding earlier this year pending independent reviews.

After the allegations surfaced, the United States — historically UNRWA’s largest donor — suspended its funding.

Following Washington’s decision, UNRWA was forced to withdraw its international staff from Gaza and the occupied West Bank, severely limiting its ability to distribute food aid.

Despite these constraints, the agency still employs around 12,000 people in the Palestinian territories. UNRWA’s Commissioner-General, Philippe Lazzarini, emphasized that its services remain indispensable to Palestinians.

“About 75,000 people are sheltered across 100 of our premises throughout the Gaza Strip,” he said. “Over the last two years, we’ve provided more than 15 million primary health consultations — currently averaging about 14,000 a day.” He also pointed to a joint vaccination campaign with UNICEF and the World Health Organization, as well as education for tens of thousands of children.

Lazzarini warned that without a substantial influx of new funding, UNRWA will be unable to sustain critical services for millions of Palestinian refugees.

He also responded to recent U.S. statements. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, aligning with Israeli demands, has said UNRWA “will have no role” in post-war Gaza. But Lazzarini noted that since a U.S.-brokered ceasefire took hold, UNRWA has expanded its services, underscoring the agency’s ongoing commitment in the territory.

According to reporting by Al Jazeera, Israel reopened the Kerem Shalom crossing this week — the main entry point for goods into the devastated northern Gaza Strip — after keeping it closed for two months. The reopening was welcomed by Palestinians and UN aid agencies struggling to address the growing humanitarian emergency.

Palestinian truck driver Abdulkarim Abu Daqqa told Al Jazeera on Thursday that workers had managed to load roughly 80 trucks, expressing hope that operations would continue the following day to help ease Gaza’s dire shortages.

A spokesperson for COGAT, the Israeli Defence Ministry unit responsible for civilian affairs in the occupied Palestinian territory, told AFP that the crossing is expected to remain open permanently.

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