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Israeli ban of UNRWA could kill more children in Gaza: UNICEF

The UN humanitarian office warns that the ban could be viewed as a form of "collective punishment", which is prohibited under international humanitarian law.

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The head of the International Organization for Migration, Amy Pope, said IOM could not replace UNRWA in Gaza but that it could provide more relief to those in crisis. / Photo: AA

Israel's decision to ban the UN relief agency UNRWA could result in the deaths of more children and represent a form of collective punishment for Palestinians in Gaza if fully implemented, UN agencies said.

A law passed by Israel on Monday to ban the UN Palestinian refugee agency from operating in the country has raised concerns about its ability to provide relief in Gaza after over a year of war.

The agency, which employs thousands of people in Gaza, provides nearly the entire population of the coastal enclave with basic supplies and needs access through Israel.

"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 October 7 war began. "So a decision such as this suddenly means that a new way has been found to kill children."

Palestinian health authorities' data show that over 13,300 children whose identities have been confirmed have been killed in the Gaza war. Many more are believed to have died from diseases due to a collapsing medical system and food and water shortages.

Other UN agencies described UNRWA's work as indispensable.

There is no alternative to UNRWA: World deplores Israel’s ban on aid agency

Collective punishment

The World Health Organization's Tarik Jasarevic said that about a third of the healthcare workers helping with the ongoing polio vaccination campaign for children in Gaza work with UNRWA.

UNRWA has about 1,000 health workers in Gaza, he added.

In response to a question about whether the ban represented a form of collective punishment against Palestinians in Gaza, UN humanitarian office spokesperson Jens Laerke 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."

Collective punishment, which amounts to a war crime, is a term referring to sanctions or harassment against a group taken in retaliation for acts by individual members of that group.

Israeli officials claimed the involvement of UNRWA staffers in the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on southern Israel. The UN said in August that nine UNRWA staff may have been involved in the attacks and fired them.