Israel cuts ties with UN agency, creating new hurdles for Palestinian aid

The laws passed late Monday effectively ban Unrwa—known formally as the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East—from operating in Israeli territory and forbid Israeli state authorities from having contact with it. The provisions would cut off access to Israeli entrance permits into Gaza and the West Bank, as well as coordination with the Israeli military, which Unrwa relies upon to ferry staff and aid around Gaza. Israel currently manages all points of entry into Gaza after it took control of the Gaza-side of the enclave’s crossing with Egypt in May.

The practical impact on aid delivery is likely to be shaped by a number of factors. It isn’t yet clear how the restrictions will be enforced and some of Unwra’s activities could be carried out in coordination with other U.N. agencies. There is also a 90-day transition period before the restrictions take effect.

Israel has tried for several months to shift responsibility for humanitarian services in Gaza to several other U.N. aid agencies and independent groups operating in the enclave. But Unrwa—which had the largest Gaza-based staff ahead of the war—is broadly seen as the backbone of the humanitarian response in the strip.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has criticized Unrwa, but Israel hasn’t employed a clear strategy toward the agency. Instead, it has taken piecemeal steps like Monday’s legislation, which garnered rare support across political camps in Israel’s Knesset, or parliament.

The U.S. had urged Israel to scrap the vote for several weeks. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said before the vote on Monday that the U.S. was “deeply concerned" and warned Israel that passing the law could have unspecified implications under U.S. law and policy.

“Unrwa plays a critical, important role in delivering humanitarian assistance to civilians that need it in Gaza," Miller said. “There’s nobody that can replace them right now in the middle of the crisis."

Unrwa head Philippe Lazzarini criticized the decision and wrote on X shortly after the vote that the legislation “sets a dangerous precedent."

“This is the latest in the ongoing campaign to discredit Unrwa and delegitimize its role towards providing human-development assistance and services to Palestine Refugees," he wrote.

Unrwa has long had a tenuous relationship with Israel, which throughout the years has intermittently accused Gaza-based militants of using Unrwa facilities to fire rockets at Israel or house parts of the Hamas tunnel network, or said some Hamas members were in Unrwa’s employ.

Tensions came to a head in January. The U.S. and several other countries decided to suspend funding to the agency after it fired several employees who Israel accused of having participated in the Hamas-led attacks on Oct. 7 of last year. Many of those countries have since reinstated funding. The attacks killed 1,200 people and about 250 were taken back to Gaza as hostages, according to Israeli authorities.

Israel declared war on Hamas in response to those attacks. The fighting has killed over 43,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, whose numbers don’t distinguish between civilians and combatants.

At least 220 Unrwa staff members have been killed in the conflict. Israel has said that a small number of Unrwa’s staff who have been killed were militants. That includes a man that Israel said kidnapped American-Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin and several others on Oct. 7.