UNRWA ban in Gaza 'will not make Israel safer' - WHO

GENEVA — The chief of the World Health Organisation has denounced Israel's decision to cut ties with the UN agency supporting Palestinian refugees, saying it would not make the country safer while increasing civilian suffering in Gaza.

"Let me be clear: There is simply no alternative to UNRWA," the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a video posted on X.

"This ban will not make Israel safer. It will only deepen the suffering of the people of Gaza and increase the risk of disease outbreaks," Tedros added.

His comments came after Israel said it had formally notified the UN of its decision to sever ties with UNRWA, after Israeli lawmakers backed the move last week.

The suspension of the agency, which coordinates nearly all aid in war-ravaged Gaza, sparked global condemnation including from key Israeli backer the United States.

The move is expected to come into force in late January, with the UN Security Council warning it would have severe consequences for millions of Palestinians.

Israel has accused a dozen UNRWA employees of taking part in the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas, the deadliest in Israeli history.

A series of probes found some "neutrality related issues" at UNRWA but said Israel had not provided evidence for its chief allegations.

The agency, which employs 13,000 people in Gaza, fired nine employees after an internal probe found that they "may have been involved in the armed attacks of 7 October".

UNRWA, which was established in 1949 after the first Arab-Israeli conflict following Israel's creation a year earlier, provides assistance to nearly six million Palestinian refugees across Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.

"Every day, it provides thousands of medical consultations and vaccinated hundreds of children," Tedros said, adding that many humanitarian partners rely on UNRWA's logistical networks to get supplies into Gaza.

He said that the UNRWA staff his organisation had worked with were "dedicated health and humanitarian professionals who work tirelessly for their communities under unimaginable circumstances". 

Israel's campaign has killed 43,374 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry, which the United Nations considers to be reliable.