Potentially ‘deadly’ consequences could arise from Israel’s UNRWA ban: UNICEF

This article is published in association with United Nations.

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Thursday that Israeli legislation to shut down the main lifeline for Palestine refugees in Gaza “will be deadly” if fully implemented. 

The Israeli Parliament, known as the Knesset, adopted two bills on Monday banning UN Palestine refugee agency UNRWA from operating in its territory and prohibiting authorities from having any contact with it.

“UNRWA is indispensable in delivering the urgent, life-saving assistance that 2.2 million people in Gaza urgently need,” UNICEF said in a statement.

“With the children of Gaza already facing one of the gravest humanitarian crises in recent history, if fully implemented, this decision will be deadly.”

A singular and vital role

The statement underlined that UNRWA is the only UN General Assembly-mandated agency to provide for Palestinian refugees. 

“UNRWA runs a range of social services, with over 18,000 employees in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, providing health, education and other essential services for Palestinian refugees,” it said. “No UN agency can take over this responsibility.”

UNRWA provides essential services and protection to more than five million Palestinian refugees overall across the Occupied Palestinian Territory and in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

UNICEF noted that it is “the backbone of the humanitarian response in Gaza”, and that UN Secretary-General António Guterres has said “there is no alternative to UNRWA”.

Critical commitment

The agency’s support to Palestinian civilians continues as war grinds on in Gaza.

UNRWA said on Thursday that in Khan Younis, its teams continue to reach thousands of displaced people with flour and essential aid.

“As the risk of famine across the Gaza Strip remains high, UNRWA’s commitment to supporting the most vulnerable is more critical than ever,” the agency wrote on the social media platform X.

‘The best medicine is peace’

Meanwhile, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, again underscored the need for peace in Gaza.

Writing on X, he stated that “all you get from war” are destruction, death, displacement, disease, depravation and famine.

“I hope our world gets back to its senses,” Tedros said. “The best medicine is peace.”

Support for Gaza medical evacuees

This week, WHO Egypt and the United Kingdom’ s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office signed a £1 million agreement (roughly $1.3 million) to respond to the health needs of people evacuated from Gaza for treatment in the northeast African country.

Through the partnership, WHO will support the Ministry of Health and partners to provide quality health services for these patients.

WHO will work to enhance the readiness of Egypt’s health system to receive the evacuees by ensuring the availability of necessary medical equipment, medical supplies and medications, including chemotherapy.

The agency will also enhance the capacity of healthcare providers to manage chronic diseases and provide psychosocial support.

Thousands still waiting

WHO has previously reported that although some 5,000 people have been evacuated for medical treatment outside of Gaza since war erupted in October 2023, more than 10,000 are still in need.

Egypt began receiving patients from Gaza last November and since then, WHO has worked to support the country’s efforts to meet their health needs.

Since the crisis began, WHO in Egypt has provided more than $2 million worth of medical supplies to local hospitals, including intensive care unit beds, mechanical heart valves, bloodlines for dialysis machines, orthopedic surgery supplies and anaesthesia medications. 

With support from Japan, WHO Egypt has also trained around 900 health workers in various fields to provide lifesaving emergency healthcare services.

Last neonatal ICU in the north out of action

Separately, UN sexual and reproductive health agency UNFPA warned that attacks on hospitals in northern Gaza – including Kamal Adwan, the main provider of obstetric care – have shut down the last functioning neonatal intensive care unit in the region.

The attacks have also further restricted access to maternity care for the roughly 4,000 pregnant women in the area.

“Reports of women dying during or shortly after childbirth, and women giving birth alone without medical care, are increasing,” UNFPA said.

The agency reported that only two out of 20 health service points in the north are partially functioning. The same applies to two hospitals there, with the Al-Awda Hospital inaccessible due to damaged roads and the Israeli army presence nearby.

‘Harrowing’ attacks on healthcare

UNFPA said “the results of the attacks on healthcare are harrowing”, noting that an airstrike wiped out the last remaining medical supplies inside Kamal Adwan Hospital and the warehouse storing supplies also went up in flames.

Furthermore, two children died at Al-Awda Hospital after medical equipment was damaged, cutting off their oxygen supply in the intensive care unit, according to medical personnel. 

A new mother was also killed when the ambulance she was travelling in was targeted shortly after she gave birth, though her newborn survived.

Concern for new mothers

The UN agency said widespread food insecurity and ensuing malnutrition are compounding the suffering of around 14,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women in the north, who are rapidly exhausting all available means for survival. 

“As the threat of famine persists, around 1,440 pregnant and breastfeeding women will need treatment for acute malnutrition in the coming months,” it said.

UNRWA ‘irreplaceable and indispensable’

UNFPA also added that its humanitarian response relies heavily on the partnership with UNRWA, including over the past 13 months of war in Gaza

“UNRWA’s established network and infrastructure is crucial for delivering essential reproductive healthcare, including maternal health and protection services,” the agency said.

“UNFPA is deeply concerned by efforts to undermine UNRWA, as this will jeopardize access to critical care for women and girls. UNRWA is irreplaceable and indispensable and must be allowed to deliver on its mandate during this conflict and beyond.”