UN Secretary General Urges Massive Aid Flow to Gaza, Condemns Israel's Ban on UNRWA Aid Convoys

The UN humanitarian aid convoy has entered northern Gaza. (Source: IDF)

JAKARTA - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called for massive aid supplies to Gaza to fight hunger, criticizing Israel's entry ban on UNRWA humanitarian aid convoys.

Israel should remove all obstacles to aid to Gaze and allow Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA convoys into northern Gaza, where famine threatens, Guterres said.

"It is very important to have large supplies of humanitarian aid at this time. This means opening more entry points, this means concentrating the efforts of all entities and without obstacles and restrictions from the Israeli side," explained Secretary-General Guterres, as reported by Reuters, March 26.

Israel stopped all imports of food, medicine, electricity, and fuel into Gaza at the start of the war. Despite later allowing aid deliveries, aid organizations said security checks and the difficulty of moving through the war zone had severely hampered their operations.

During his visit to Wihdat Camp in Jordan, where UNRWA provides health and education services, the top UN official said the agency was a lifeline of hope and dignity for millions of refugees in the region.

"The decision not to allow the UNRWA convoy to go to northern Gaza, where we are experiencing a serious famine situation is completely unacceptable and those who took that decision must bear the responsibility of facing the consequences of that decision," criticized Secretary-General Guterres.

UNRWA has been in crisis since Israel accused dozens of its staff of being involved in a Hamas attack on the country's southern region on October 7. The allegations prompted some of UNRWA's major donors to cut funding, throwing the agency's future into doubt. However, several countries have recently restored funding.

Israel denies blocking aid to Gaza, saying delivering aid once it is in the territory is the responsibility of the UN and humanitarian agencies. Israel has also accused Hamas of stealing aid, a charge the group denies.

However, concerns emerged again on Monday after the Israeli government said it would stop cooperating with the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA in Gaza, which it said was perpetuating the conflict.

"UNRWA is part of this problem, and we will now stop cooperating with them. We are actively stopping the use of UNRWA because they will only perpetuate the conflict instead of trying to defuse the conflict," Israeli government spokesman David Mencer told reporters.

He made his comments after UNRWA Chief Philippe Lazzarini said Israel had told the UN it would no longer approve UNRWA food convoys to northern Gaza.

The head of the UN's Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) said on Sunday that Israel had informed the UN that it would no longer approve UNRWA food convoys headed to northern Gaza.

"It is outrageous and deliberate to obstruct life-saving assistance during a human-caused famine. These restrictions must be lifted," UNRWA Chief Philippe Lazzarini said via social media platform X.

"By preventing UNRWA from fulfilling its mandate in Gaza, time will move faster towards famine and many more will die from starvation, dehydration, and lack of shelter," added Lazzarini.

Previously, in a separate post on X Lazzarini said that all UNRWA food convoys were refused access to Gaza last week.

"With unhindered access, this artificial famine can still be prevented," he wrote.

Aid organizations say security checks and the difficulty of moving through the war zone have hampered their operations in Gaza.