UN: UNRWA 'Turns Back' Humanitarian Response In Irreplaceable Palestine

UNRWA Officers In Gaza/DOK UNRWA

JAKARTA - The UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) is a "backbone" for humanitarian responses in the Gaza Strip, a UN deputy spokesman said on Friday (3/1).

"From our point of view, UNRWA, and we have often conveyed this, is the backbone of the humanitarian response, and we believe this agency is irreplaceable," Farhan Haq told reporters.

The statement came after UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini revealed that Israel's Knesset bill to ban the agency from operating in the Palestinian occupied territories would take effect in less than four weeks.

"If UNRWA's operations collapse due to the enactment of this law, it will cause tremendous suffering for people who are already facing extreme difficulties," Haq said, adding that UNRWA is committed to staying afloat and providing assistance.

Since October 2023, according to Haq, UNRWA has provided 6.7 million medical consultations in Gaza, an average of more than 1,600 consultations per day.

About 730,000 people have received mental and psychosocial health support thanks to UNRWA, he added, noting that the agency has also vaccinated polio 560,000 children under the age of 10.

"Almost 2 million people have received food assistance, while hundreds of thousands of refugees live in UNRWA shelters," he said.