News Mania Desk / Piyal Chatterjee / 29th October 2024
In a move that alarmed some of Israel’s Western allies who worry that it may exacerbate the already poor humanitarian situation in Gaza, Israel’s parliament passed a measure on Monday prohibiting the UN aid agency UNRWA from working inside the nation. Israeli officials pointed to the fact that some of the thousands of employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees were involved in the attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, and that some of them were members of Hamas and other armed groups.
“UNRWA workers involved in terrorist activities against Israel must be held accountable,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
The head of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, said the vote opposes the U.N. charter and violates international law. “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 on social media platform X.
The poll was held on the same day as Israeli tanks advanced farther into northern Gaza, trapping 100,000 residents, according to the Palestinian Emergency Service. Israel’s military said that the actions were meant to destroy Hamas fighters who were regrouping. The Israeli military reported that during a raid on a hospital in the Jabalia camp, they apprehended about 100 suspected militants. Medical professionals and Hamas have denied that there are any militants at the hospital.
Due to the escalating violence, intense bombardment, mass displacement orders, and lack of assured humanitarian pauses across most of northern Gaza, the Polio Technical Committee for Gaza, including the Palestinian Ministry of Health, World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and partners have been compelled to postpone the third phase of the polio vaccination campaign, which was set to begin on 23rd October .
According to the health ministry of the Gaza Strip, Israeli airstrikes and bombardment on Monday killed at least 19.
Approximately 100,000 Palestinians were stranded in Jabalia, Beit Lahiya, and Beit Hanoun without access to food or medical supplies, according to the Palestinian Civil Emergency Service. The three-week Israeli attack into northern Gaza, where Israel claimed to have destroyed Hamas fighting troops earlier in the year-long conflict, caused the emergency service to say its activities had ceased.
After several unsuccessful attempts, negotiations to mediate a ceasefire headed by the United States, Egypt, and Qatar began on Sunday. The president of Egypt suggested a two-day truce in which four Israeli hostages held by Hamas would be exchanged for Palestinian captives. Ten days later, negotiations on a permanent ceasefire would take place.
Negotiations would resume in the next few days, according to Netanyahu, “in a continued attempt to advance a deal.”
While the Islamist organization has denied that fighting will stop until Israeli forces withdraw from Gaza, Israel has stated time and again that the battle will continue until Hamas is destroyed. With Israel bombing Lebanon and moving troops into its south to dismantle Iran-backed Hezbollah, a Hamas affiliate, Gaza’s battle has sparked a wider confrontation in the Middle East and raised concerns about world oil supply.
