On December 1st, the United Nations for Palestinian refugees stated that it is halting deliveries through the Gaza Strip due to the threat of gangs who have sacked convoys. The blame is once again pointed towards Israeli policies. This decision worsens the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with experts already warning of famine in the area that has been isolated since October 2023.
Moshe Yaalon, a former Israeli defence minister, accused the Israeli Government of ethnic cleansing of Northern Gaza. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) head, Philippe Lazzarini, said that the most commonly aided route, the Kerem Shalom crossing, is too dangerous for aid trucks to be coming through with armed men targeting 100 trucks in mid-November. Lazzarini has taken to the media to blame Israel for the breakdown of humanitarian operations in Gaza. Another official, Scott Anderson, the director of UNRWA in Gaza, stated that “we’ve kind of reached a point where it makes no sense to continue to try to move aid if it’s just gonna be looted.” Israel has claimed that UNRWA has been infiltrated by Hamas but the agency has denied this and further went on to pass legislation to end linkage to Hamas.
Israel views UNRWA as a pro-Hamas support group; this is due to the dozens of UNRWA employees that participated in the October 7th attack on Israel. Israel will continue to discredit UNRWA which will further affect aid shipments into the Gaza strip. Safer and more transparent humanitarian practices need to be implemented in order to address this. There needs to be international support to find new solutions to fight Hamas and its connection to UNRWA. To support Palestinians is to not prolong Hamas but try to stop the prevention of Israel’s complete annihilation of them.
The flow of aid into Gaza is now at its lowest level since the conflict began on October 7th, 2023. As of now, only about half of the aid entering Gaza is reaching its intended recipients, with Israeli military restrictions further hampering delivery efforts. In early November Israel ended its cooperation agreement with the organization. The agreement goes back to 1967 when it was first implemented into law. The organization still operates within Gaza but no longer in Israel, making aid shipments difficult through the Gaza strip.
The question that needs to be addressed foremost is humanitarian rights within Gaza. Reforms are needed for the Palestinian people to flourish. This can only be addressed through reforms made with UNRWA and diplomatic talks with the Israeli authorities. Peace can prevail through working together for the greater good.
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