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UN warns UNRWA operations in occupied Palestinian territory risk collapse as aid steps up during ceasefire
Summary
United Nations officials told reporters that legislation in the Israeli Knesset could cripple UNRWA operations within days even as U.N. agencies and partners are scaling up food, medical and shelter assistance during a ceasefire in Gaza.
Steph, the U.N. spokesperson, said Wednesday that U.N. officials and agency heads warned the Security Council that legislation passed by the Israeli Knesset could cripple the operations of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) within two days if implemented.
Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of UNRWA, told council members that full implementation of the Knesset legislation "would be disastrous," saying it would degrade the agency’s capacity just when humanitarian assistance must be scaled up. "UNRWA staff is determined to stay and deliver until it is no longer able to do so," Steph said, quoting the commissioner-general’s remarks and reaffirming that the United Nations considers UNRWA’s work "irreplaceable in many areas."
The warning came as humanitarian agencies reported…
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