UNRWA ban ‘will not make Israel safer’: WHO chief

“Let me be clear: There is simply no alternative to UNRWA,” Tedros said.

“This ban will not make Israel safer. It will only deepen the suffering of the people of Gaza and increase the risk of disease outbreaks,” he added.

Tedros’s comments came after Israel announced it formally notified the UN of its decision to sever ties with UNRWA after Israeli lawmakers backed the move last week.

UNRWA on Monday announced Israel’s ban on its operations would lead to the “collapse” of humanitarian work in the war-torn Gaza Strip.

“If this law is implemented, it would be likely to cause the collapse of the international humanitarian operation in the Gaza Strip – an operation of which UNRWA is the backbone,” Jonathan Fowler, UNRWA spokesman, told the AFP news agency.

The UN agency provides education, healthcare and other basic services to Palestinian refugees from the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation and their descendants, who now number nearly six million. Refugee families make up the majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million population.

Aid groups have warned that Israel’s ban on UNRWA could create further obstacles to addressing a severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Israel has said other UN agencies and aid groups can fill the gap, but those organisations insist UNRWA is essential.

Israel’s notification to the UN came as the World Food Programme (WFP) on Monday warned that the humanitarian situation in Gaza “could soon escalate into famine” as Israeli forces continue to severely restrict the entry of food and other supplies into the enclave.

World Food Programme has also announced that the agency cannot serve as a replacement for UNRWA in Gaza.

“We cannot replace the important functions of the UNRWA in Gaza, such as the administration of emergency shelters, schools and health centres,” Martin Frick, head of the WFP Berlin office, told German media group RND.

The Israeli army has continued a deadly onslaught in northern Gaza since early October to reportedly prevent the Palestinian resistance group Hamas from regrouping amid a siege on the area. Palestinians, however, accuse Israel of seeking to occupy the area and forcibly displace its residents.

More than 1,200 people have been killed in northern Gaza since the offensive began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

The aggression is the latest episode in a brutal Israeli war on Gaza since an attack by Hamas in October last year, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

More than 43,300 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 102,000 others injured, according to local health authorities.

The Israeli assault has displaced almost the territory’s entire population amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.