Israel's air and ground operations in the Gaza Strip since October 7 last year have killed more than 27,300 people, about 70 percent of them women and children, injured more than 66,000 and left at least 8,000 missing, most of them presumed dead. At the same time, the needs of more than two million people trapped in Gaza, already facing a humanitarian catastrophe, are at risk of becoming even more dire following the decision by 18 donor countries to suspend financial contributions to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.
In a move that could severely undermine the humanitarian response in Gaza, Australia, Austria, Canada, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States have announced the suspension of funding to UNRWA.
The decision follows Israeli allegations against several UNRWA employees of involvement in the attacks by Palestinian armed groups on October 7, 2023. UNRWA has warned that if the funding remains suspended, the agency will most likely be forced to shut down operations by the end of February - not only in Gaza but across the region.
UNRWA is a relief and human development agency, providing health, education and other basic services to Palestinian Refugees. Established in 1949, the agency operates in Gaza, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as well as Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
On Saturday, a group of the world’s leading humanitarian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) called on international donors to rapidly resume funding for UNRWA, while simultaneously supporting a rigorous and credible investigation of the allegations, but without further devastating Gaza’s civilian population.
“Other aid agencies cannot replicate UNRWA’s central role in the humanitarian response in Gaza, and amidst the current crisis many will struggle to even maintain their current operations without UNRWA’s partnership and support,” the NGO’s statement said.
Among the signatories were CARE, the International Rescue Committee, Mercy Corps, the Norwegian Refugee Council, Oxfam, and Save the Children
On Friday, numerous UN human rights experts also expressed grave concern at the recent decision by donors to suspend funding to the UN agency. In a joined statement, the experts requested states to rally around the UN agency and urge UNRWA’s leading donors to maintain their support, especially in anticipation of the complex humanitarian challenges.
“We agree with the Principals of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee that no other entity has the capacity to deliver the scale and breadth of assistance that 2.2 million people in Gaza urgently need,” the independent UN experts said.
The Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), which brings together the executive heads of 18 UN and non-UN organizations, earlier last week warned that decisions by various states to pause funds from UNRWA would have catastrophic consequences for the people of Gaza. The world’s humanitarian leaders stressed that no other entity had the capacity to deliver the scale and breadth of assistance that 2.3 million people in Gaza urgently needed.
Meanwhile, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that thousands of Palestinians continue fleeing to the southern town of Rafah, which is already hosting more than half of Gaza’s population. Most of the displaced are living in makeshift structures, tents, or out in the open.
“Rafah is a pressure cooker of despair, and we fear for what comes next,” said OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke Friday.
“As we have heard, [Khan Younis] has also come increasingly under attack, and it has been shocking to hear about the heavy fighting in the vicinity of the hospitals.”
The United Nations estimates that 1.7 million people are internally displaced in the Gaza Strip, most crammed into overcrowded makeshift shelters in southern Gaza.
Answering questions from journalists about Israel’s announcement that the next combat theater would be in Rafah, Laerke, said there was no safe place in Gaza, and further fighting in Rafah would make the situation even worse.
Rafah was so crowded that humanitarian vehicles could barely move. Laerke said that nobody would be protected in the next wave of fighting.
“There is not enough food, there is not enough clean drinking water, and there is no protection. Nobody is guaranteed [to be safe] from the next wave of fighting that we fear is coming on,” he said. “It is, like, every week; we think it cannot get any worse. Well, go figure. It gets worse.”
Laerke also said that humanitarian reports over the past week, since the International Court of Justice decision, did not indicate any improvement of the situation on the ground.
In a landmark ruling, the International Court of Justice on January 26 confirmed that Palestinians have a right to be protected from acts of genocide, ordering Israel to “take all measures within its power” to prevent actions that amount to genocide. Among provisional measures, the Court also ordered Israel to allow the entry of desperately needed humanitarian aid into the war-shattered enclave and to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services to Palestinians there.
Instead, heavy Israeli bombardments from air, land, and sea continue across much of Gaza, causing more and more civilian casualties, displacement, and destruction. The carnage follows a large-scale attack on Israelis and foreign nationals by Palestinian armed groups on October 7 last year.
Militant groups attacked southern Israel on that day, killing an estimated 1,200 people, mostly Israelis, and abducting 250 people as hostages. Some 136 Israelis and foreign nationals are reported to remain in captivity in Gaza.
Over the past weeks, Israel has waged a massive and destructive military response. Following heavy bombardments by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) the situation of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip deteriorated drastically within days. The indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks by the IDF and the blockade imposed on Gaza by the Israeli government has led to a humanitarian catastrophe for the people of the tiny enclave.
Palestinians trapped in the small territory are in a state of desperation after more than three months of being militarily battered and left without sufficient supplies of food, water and medicine. The war in Gaza has affected 2.3 million people and has resulted in the largest displacement of the Palestinian people since 1948.
The entire population of the Gaza Strip is affected by acute hunger and is at immediate risk of famine. The bombardment, ground operations and siege of the entire population, combined with the restriction of humanitarian access, have led to catastrophic acute food insecurity, increasing the risk of famine every day. At least 500,000 people are already affected by catastrophic conditions.