GENEVA (Reuters) – Israel’s decision to ban the U.N. relief agency UNRWA could result in the deaths of more children and represent a form of collective punishment for Gazans if fully implemented, U.N. agencies said on Tuesday.
A law passed by Israel on Monday to ban the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency from operating inside Israel has raised concerns about its ability to provide relief in Gaza after over a year of war.
“If UNRWA is unable to operate, it’ll likely see the collapse of the humanitarian system in Gaza,” said UNICEF spokesperson James Elder, who has worked extensively in Gaza since the Oct. 7 war began. “So a decision such as this suddenly means that a new way has been found to kill children.”
Other U.N. agencies at the same briefing said it would be impossible to fill the void. “It is indispensable and there is no alternative to it at this point,” said U.N. humanitarian office spokesperson Jens Laerke.
In response to a question about whether the ban represented a form of collective punishment against Gazans, he said: “I think it is a fair description of what they have decided here, if implemented, that this would add to the acts of collective punishment that we have seen imposed on Gaza.”
The head of the International Organization for Migration said IOM could not replace UNRWA in Gaza but that it could provide more relief to those in crisis. “That is a role that we are very, very keen to play, and one that we will be stepping up with the support of various stakeholders,” IOM Director-General Amy Pope said.
(Reporting by Emma Farge, Editing by Miranda Murray and Ros Russell)
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