UNRWA Chief Says 'Relentless Assault' on Agency Is Harming Palestinians

23 January 2025, Palestinian Territories, Rafah: Trucks loaded with humanitarian aid from UNRWA enter through the Kerem Shalom crossing from Egypt into the Gaza Strip, days after the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas entered into force. (dpa)
23 January 2025, Palestinian Territories, Rafah: Trucks loaded with humanitarian aid from UNRWA enter through the Kerem Shalom crossing from Egypt into the Gaza Strip, days after the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas entered into force. (dpa)
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UNRWA Chief Says 'Relentless Assault' on Agency Is Harming Palestinians

23 January 2025, Palestinian Territories, Rafah: Trucks loaded with humanitarian aid from UNRWA enter through the Kerem Shalom crossing from Egypt into the Gaza Strip, days after the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas entered into force. (dpa)
23 January 2025, Palestinian Territories, Rafah: Trucks loaded with humanitarian aid from UNRWA enter through the Kerem Shalom crossing from Egypt into the Gaza Strip, days after the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas entered into force. (dpa)

The leader of the UN's Palestinian relief agency UNRWA said Tuesday that Israel's "relentless assault" on the agency was harming the Palestinians, speaking after Israel moved to cut all contact with his organization.

"The relentless assault on UNRWA is harming the lives and future of Palestinians across the occupied Palestinian territory. It is eroding their trust in the international community, jeopardizing any prospect for peace and security," Philippe Lazzarini told a UN Security Council meeting on the issue.

Israel will cease all contact with the UN's Palestinian relief agency UNRWA and any other body acting on its behalf, Israel's envoy to the UN said Tuesday after repeatedly accusing the organization of undermining its security.

UNRWA's offices and staff in Israel play a major role in the provision of healthcare and education to Palestinians, but Israeli officials have long clashed with the agency.

UNRWA claims to have brought in 60 percent of the food to have reached Gaza since the start of the war that followed the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel.

"The legislation forbids UNRWA from operating within the sovereign territory of the State of Israel, and forbids any contact between Israeli officials and UNWRA," said the envoy, Danny Danon.

He was speaking ahead of a UN Security Council meeting on Israel's passage of legislation ending the organization's legal footing in Israel within 48 hours.

"Israel will terminate all collaboration, communication and contact with UNRWA or anyone acting on its behalf."

Israel claims that a dozen UNRWA employees were involved in the deadly October 7, 2023 assault, and insists that other organizations can pick up the slack to provide essential services, aid and reconstruction -- something the UN disputes.

A series of probes, including one led by France's former foreign minister Catherine Colonna, found some "neutrality related issues" at UNRWA -- but stressed Israel had not provided evidence for its chief allegations.

Lazzarini said UNRWA's "capacity to directly provide primary healthcare for millions of Palestinians, and to resume education for hundreds of thousands of children, far exceeds that of any other entity."

Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,210 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

During the attack, gunmen took into Gaza 251 hostages. Eighty-seven remain in the territory, including dozens Israel says are dead.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 47,317 people in Gaza, the majority civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry that the UN considers reliable.

The war provoked a deep humanitarian crisis, destroying hospitals and sparking outbreaks of infectious diseases while hundreds of thousands of Gazans faced starvation conditions and have depended on food aid.

"We are determined, however, to stay and deliver until it is no longer possible to do so," said Lazzarini.



Lebanese Govt. to Seek New IMF Program, Policy Statement Says

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, U.S., September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas//File Photo
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, U.S., September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas//File Photo
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Lebanese Govt. to Seek New IMF Program, Policy Statement Says

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, U.S., September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas//File Photo
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, U.S., September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas//File Photo

Lebanon's new government will negotiate with the International Monetary Fund for a new program and will work to deal with the country's financial default and public debt, according to a policy statement approved by the cabinet late on Monday.

The statement, a copy of which was reviewed by Reuters, said the government would work for an economical revival that could only be achieved through restructuring the banking sector.

Lebanon has been in deep economic crisis since 2019, when its financial system collapsed under the weight of massive state debts, prompting a sovereign default in 2020 and freezing ordinary depositors out of their savings in the banking system.

Beirut reached a draft funding deal with IMF in 2022 - contingent on reforms that authorities failed to deliver.

Finance Minister Yassine Jaber, who took office as part of a new government agreed earlier this month, told Reuters an IMF mission is expected to visit Lebanon in March.

Jaber said he had met the IMF's resident representative in Lebanon, Frederico Lima, and confirmed that the government plans to move ahead with reforms.

Lebanon's political landscape has been turned on its head since the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, long a dominant player in Lebanese politics, was badly pummelled in last year's war with Israel.

Reflecting the shift in the power balance, the government policy statement did not include language used in previous years that was seen to legitimize a role for Hezbollah in defending Lebanon, saying instead "we want a state that has the decision of war and peace".

The statement said it was required to adopt a national security strategy and a foreign policy that works to 'neutralize' Lebanon from conflicts.

In the field of energy, the Lebanese government will seek to resume work in oil and gas exploration, according to the cabinet statement. It said the government planned to establish a Ministry of Technology and Artificial Intelligence.

With a new administration in neighboring Syria, the statement said the Lebanese government believed it has an opportunity to start a serious dialogue aimed at controlling and demarcating the borders and working to resolve the issue of displaced Syrians in Lebanon.