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UNRWA Outraged as Israel No Longer Approves Food Convoys to Northern Gaza

Internally displaced Palestinians, including children, carry their belongings as they walk at a street after the Israeli army asked residents of Khan Yunis town to leave their homes and head to camps in Rafah near the border with Egypt, during an Israeli military operation in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, 24 March 2024. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
Internally displaced Palestinians, including children, carry their belongings as they walk at a street after the Israeli army asked residents of Khan Yunis town to leave their homes and head to camps in Rafah near the border with Egypt, during an Israeli military operation in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, 24 March 2024. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
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UNRWA Outraged as Israel No Longer Approves Food Convoys to Northern Gaza

Internally displaced Palestinians, including children, carry their belongings as they walk at a street after the Israeli army asked residents of Khan Yunis town to leave their homes and head to camps in Rafah near the border with Egypt, during an Israeli military operation in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, 24 March 2024. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER
Internally displaced Palestinians, including children, carry their belongings as they walk at a street after the Israeli army asked residents of Khan Yunis town to leave their homes and head to camps in Rafah near the border with Egypt, during an Israeli military operation in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, 24 March 2024. EPA/MOHAMMED SABER

The head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) said on Sunday Israel had informed the United Nations that it will no longer approve UNRWA food convoys to the north of Gaza.

"This is outrageous and makes it intentional to obstruct lifesaving assistance during a man-made famine. These restrictions must be lifted," UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini said on social media platform X.

UNRWA, which provides aid and services to Palestinian refugees in Gaza and across the region, has been in crisis since Israel accused a dozen of its staff of involvement in the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks against Israel.

The allegations prompted UNRWA's biggest donor, the United States, and some others to pause funding, putting the agency's future in doubt. However, other countries including Canada, Australia and Sweden have since restored funding.

UNRWA and Egypt said last week that Lazzarini, who was on a visit to Cairo, was denied entry to Gaza by Israeli authorities.

"By preventing UNRWA to fulfill its mandate in Gaza, the clock will tick faster towards famine & many more will die of hunger, dehydration + lack of shelter," Lazzarini added.

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Israel Considers Transferring Control of Gaza’s Rafah Crossing to EU, Palestinians

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (dpa)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (dpa)
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Israel Considers Transferring Control of Gaza’s Rafah Crossing to EU, Palestinians

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (dpa)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (dpa)

Israeli authorities are considering transferring control of Gaza’s Rafah crossing to the European Union and Palestinians, informed sources said on Thursday.
Though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has scorned the idea of Israel ceding the crossing, Israeli officials were in talks with the EU and the US about the proposal, the sources told Bloomberg.
If enacted, the proposal could foreshadow an end to the conflict between Israel and Hamas and enable more aid to get into the devastated Palestinian territory, said the sources, who asked not to be identified discussing the sensitive talks.
The negotiations underscore the EU’s renewed diplomatic efforts to relieve some pressure on Palestinian civilians and help stop the war.
The bloc has for months called for a truce but had little influence over the Israeli government as it tries to destroy Hamas.
The EU helped run the crossing before 2007, when Hamas took control over the Gaza Strip.
Netanyahu said that whatever Israel does, Hamas won’t be allowed to retake control of any border areas. His government also insists on Israel’s forces remaining in the vicinity of the crossing and along the Gaza-Egypt border.
After a visit to Rafah on Thursday, Netanyahu said it was “vital” to hold the Philadelphi Corridor and the Rafah crossing.
Last May, the Israeli army launched a military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, capturing the Rafah crossing on the Palestinian side and deploying its forces throughout the so-called Philadelphi Corridor that runs for 14 kilometers along the border with Egypt.
Earlier on Thursday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty renewed his call for Israel’s army withdrawal from the Rafah crossing and for the Palestinian Authority to run the terminal.