Israel’s parliament voted to ban the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNWRA) on Monday, a decision that could further impede the delivery of critical aid to Gaza as Israel continues its brutal assault there.
For over 70 years, UNRWA has provided assistance and services — schools, clinics, food and cash assistance, and shelter — to the Palestinian population in Gaza, the West Bank, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. It has continued its operations in increasingly challenging conditions throughout the war, orchestrating the distribution of humanitarian aid despite Israeli obstruction and funding shortfalls. Palestinians seeking medical care and facing crisis levels of hunger and disease have become increasingly reliant on UNWRA’s aid amid Israel’s bombardment, which has left Gaza in ruins.
It’s hard to imagine Gaza’s humanitarian crisis worsening, but that is likely to happen with the UNRWA ban. UNRWA itself…