UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees Urges World to Save It from Israeli Ban

FILED - 10 February 2024, Palestinian Territories, Gaza City: Palestinians examine the damage to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) buildings on their way back to their homes in the wake of the Israeli army withdrew from North of Gaza City. Photo: Omar Ishaq/dpa
FILED - 10 February 2024, Palestinian Territories, Gaza City: Palestinians examine the damage to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) buildings on their way back to their homes in the wake of the Israeli army withdrew from North of Gaza City. Photo: Omar Ishaq/dpa
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UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees Urges World to Save It from Israeli Ban

FILED - 10 February 2024, Palestinian Territories, Gaza City: Palestinians examine the damage to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) buildings on their way back to their homes in the wake of the Israeli army withdrew from North of Gaza City. Photo: Omar Ishaq/dpa
FILED - 10 February 2024, Palestinian Territories, Gaza City: Palestinians examine the damage to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) buildings on their way back to their homes in the wake of the Israeli army withdrew from North of Gaza City. Photo: Omar Ishaq/dpa

The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees urged the world Wednesday to save it from an Israeli ban that would have “disastrous consequences” for millions of people caught up in the war in Gaza.
Philippe Lazzarini, who heads the agency known as UNRWA, told the 193 nations of the UN General Assembly that they must take action to prevent Israel from implementing legislation that prohibits the agency's operations in the Palestinian territories. The laws, adopted by Israel’s parliament last month, take effect in 90 days.
UNRWA was established by the General Assembly in 1949 to provide relief for Palestinians who fled or were expelled from their homes before and during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war that followed Israel’s establishment, as well as their descendants, until there is a political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, The Associated Press said.
UNRWA has been the main agency distributing humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip, where almost the entire population of around 2.3 million Palestinians relies on aid for survival amid Israel’s more than yearlong war with Hamas. Experts say hunger is rampant.
Assembly President Philemon Yang told members at Wednesday’s informal meeting that Israel’s legislation “constitutes an intolerable affront to the authority of this assembly, an affront to international law and, most importantly, an affront to the human dignity of innocent Palestinian civilians."
Yang said the assembly extended UNRWA’s mandate — most recently in December 2022 — by an overwhelming majority until June 30, 2026. He urgently called on Israel to comply with its international legal obligations, the UN Charter and UN resolutions.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has repeatedly said there is no alternative to UNRWA, and Yang stressed that a halt to its activities “would exacerbate an already catastrophic humanitarian situation.”
Israel alleges that around a dozen of UNRWA’s 13,000 staff in Gaza participated in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks in southern Israel that sparked the war in Gaza. It recently provided the UN with over 100 names of UNRWA staff it claims have militant ties.
The agency denies it knowingly aids armed groups and says it acts quickly to purge any suspected militants among its staff. Lazzarini said the UN has asked Israel for details so it can investigate but has received no response.
Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon reiterated Israeli accusations that UNRWA is riddled with supporters of Hamas and educates Palestinian children to “hate.” He stressed that Gaza’s future cannot include Hamas or UNRWA.
Sitting next to released Israeli hostage Mia Schem, he strongly criticized the General Assembly and all other UN bodies for failing to condemn Hamas or to hold a single session dedicated to the hostages.
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN ambassador, echoed calls for countries to act collectively to save UNRWA, accusing Israel of an “open assault” against the agency partly aimed at stripping Palestinians of their refugee status and rights.
“As we gather here, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are facing imminent death,” he said of northern Gaza.
Acting UN humanitarian chief Joyce Msuya said Tuesday that northern Gaza has been under “a near-total brutal siege” for the past month and Palestinian civilians are starving while the world watches.
“These atrocities must stop,” Msuya said in a posting on X. “Israeli military ground operations have left Palestinians without the essentials to survive, forced them to flee for safety multiple times, and cut off their escape and supply routes.”
Lebanon’s UN Ambassador Hadi Hachem, speaking on behalf of the UN’s 22-member Arab Group, called on the General Assembly to confront Israel’s “dangerous precedent” and take urgent measures to defend UNRWA and uphold international law.



Lebanon to Increase Army Personnel Ahead of Possible Deployment South of Litani

Prime Minister Najib Mikati chairing the cabinet meeting (Photo: The Prime Minister’s office)
Prime Minister Najib Mikati chairing the cabinet meeting (Photo: The Prime Minister’s office)
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Lebanon to Increase Army Personnel Ahead of Possible Deployment South of Litani

Prime Minister Najib Mikati chairing the cabinet meeting (Photo: The Prime Minister’s office)
Prime Minister Najib Mikati chairing the cabinet meeting (Photo: The Prime Minister’s office)

The Lebanese government has approved funding to recruit 1,500 new military personnel in the Lebanese Army as part of an initiative to increase military presence along the southern border, amid Israel’s ongoing hostilities.
The funds will be provided to the Ministry of Defense as an advance, a decision highlighted by the Minister of Information for its political and international significance, particularly in relation to implementing United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701.
Prime Minister Najib Mikati in the caretaker government emphasized that continued and escalating Israeli attacks on Lebanon amount to crimes against humanity. He stated that a primary pathway to a resolution involves halting hostilities against the country, fully implementing Resolution 1701, and electing a new president to restore institutional order, stability, and initiate reconstruction.

Mikati condemned what he described as an international failure to stop Israel’s actions against Lebanon, which include attacks on towns and villages, civilian deaths, and strikes against medical and relief personnel.
“We condemn and hold the international community responsible for the continuation of Israel’s genocidal war on Lebanon, its destruction of towns and villages, killing of civilians, assassination of army personnel, and targeting of medical teams, civil defense, relief teams, and journalists.
“Additionally, the attacks on UNIFIL, which represents international legitimacy, make targeting UNIFIL an assault on the international community and the Security Council. This destruction continues to affect hospitals, schools, and educational centers,” stated Mikati.
On the international front, Mikati highlighted the solidarity shown by world figures, referring to his discussions with leaders like Jordan’s King Abdullah, France’s President Emmanuel Macron, and Britain’s Prime Minister. This was further demonstrated during the Paris Conference in Support of Lebanon -late on October- he underlined, specifically thanking France for its humanitarian efforts and military support.
But he added: “But unfortunately, Israel is blatantly disregarding all international efforts to achieve a ceasefire.”
The prime minister reiterated Lebanon’s stance on safeguarding its dignity and sovereignty across air, sea, and land, pledging to confront any Israeli violations.
Following the cabinet meeting, Minister of Information Ziad Makari assured that funds to recruit 1,500 additional soldiers are available and that the government encountered no issues regarding this allocation.
Nasser Yassin, the government’s Emergency Committee coordinator, announced that the cabinet approved fuel allocations for 541 shelters in mountainous regions over 300 meters in altitude to ensure winter heating. Yassin also detailed efforts concerning the people displaced as the result of the Israeli hostilities in Lebanon.
He highlighted that there are 44,000 families in 1,138 shelters and an additional 147,000 families housed within communities.