UN Security Council Discusses Gaza Crisis and Threats to UNRWA Amid Intensified Hostilities, Highlights of the noon briefing by Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General – 26 July 2024

26 July 2024

(Excerpt)

/…

UN RELIEF AND WORKS AGENCY FOR PALESTINE REFUGEES IN THE NEAR EAST 

The Security Council this morning met to discuss the humanitarian situation in Gaza, including the legislation in the Israeli Knesset concerning the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

Antonia Marie de Meo, the Deputy Commissioner General of UNRWA, noted the ongoing review by the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) of the allegations made against UNRWA. Ms. de Meo said UNRWA is targeted because of its role in safeguarding Palestinian refugees. She said that UNRWA must continue to provide services until a credible solution for Israel and Palestine is at hand.

She warned that the bills before the Knesset on UNRWA make a travesty of the multilateral responsibilities of Member States.  They erode the very foundations of international law and multilateral norms.  If these bills pass, she said, they will put all UNRWA staff and the Agency’s General Assembly mandate in direct danger.

Muhannad Hadi, the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator dealing with the Palestinian territories, said that everyone in Gaza is exposed to risks of injury and disease. Those who survive the bombs and bullets still face the threats of hunger, unsanitary conditions and lack of healthcare.

Mr. Hadi said that UNRWA has been shouldering the burden of this crisis. The campaign against UNRWA, attacks against its premises, and legislative efforts to declare UNRWA a terrorist organization to end its operations are utterly unacceptable and endanger our operations, he said. He noted that the Secretary-General has asserted that UNRWA is the backbone of our humanitarian operations in Palestine.

He reiterated that the United Nations, and our partners in Gaza, will never give up. We will continue to provide desperately needed assistance; Mr. Hadi added – but we need a safe enabling environment to do so.

OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY

As for the situation on the ground in Gaza, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs(OCHA) says that Israeli bombardment continues to be reported across much of the Strip, leading to civilian casualties and further displacement.

The UN humanitarian partners estimate that more than 190,000 Palestinians have been displaced this week in Khan Younis and Deir al Balah since Monday’s evacuation order. Hundreds of others remain stranded in eastern Khan Younis, as the fighting continues.

Once again, we underscore that all parties to the conflict must respect their obligations under international humanitarian law, including by taking constant care to spare civilians and civilian objects. This includes allowing civilians to leave for safer areas and allowing their return as soon as circumstances allow. People must be able to receive humanitarian assistance, whether they move or stay.

OCHA says that recent evacuation directives and intense hostilities have destabilized aid operations and hampered efforts to provide critical relief to civilians in Khan Younis.

This week, a dozen distribution points for food and eight for cooked meals were forced to halt their operations – and nutrition programmes at two shelters supporting more than 2,800 children and pregnant women were also disrupted.

Ten water and sanitation facilities were also impacted – including water reservoirs, desalination plants and sewage pumping stations that had to cease operations.

And six education partners in Khan Younis had to suspend activities, affecting some 20,000 children who had been benefiting from mental health and recreational activities, and about 1,500 children in 10 temporary learning spaces.

Meanwhile, OCHA says ongoing insecurity and the designation of only one access point for the entry and exit of humanitarian staff into and out of Gaza – that’s the Kerem Shalom crossing – have hampered efforts to deploy additional emergency medical teams in Gaza. These workers are critically needed to help support the exhausted local health force.

None of Gaza’s 36 hospitals is fully functioning. Sixteen are partially functioning, but some are only providing minimal health-care services.

Since the start of the Rafah operation in early May, the volume of aid that could be retrieved from crossing points into Gaza has significantly decreased — by 56 per cent since April.

As of Wednesday, humanitarian organizations retrieved 1,800 truckloads of aid – mostly carrying food – during July. This averages out to 75 trucks per day, excluding fuel. This is compared to a daily average of 169 aid trucks for April.

/…