WHO chief says banning UNRWA will 'only deepen' suffering of Gazans in need

The World Health Organisation (WHO) chief, on Thursday, reiterated that banning the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) will “only deepen” the suffering of people in Gaza as “no other agency can match” its scale of assistance, Anadolu Agency reports.

“UNRWA is the largest health provider in Gaza,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X. “With about 1,000 health workers, UNRWA handles over 16,000 medical consultations per day, including for childhood vaccinations, maternal health services, malnutrition screening and mental health support.”

“No other agency can match this scale. Banning UNRWA will only deepen the suffering of the people in need of lifesaving care,” Tedros said.

His remarks came after UNRWA chief, Philippe Lazzarini, said Wednesday that the agency is three weeks away from the deadline of the Knesset ban on the UN agency.

Israel has repeatedly equated UNRWA staff with Hamas members in efforts to discredit them, providing no proof of the claims, while lobbying hard to have UNRWA closed as it is the only UN agency to have a specific mandate to look after the basic needs of Palestinian refugees. If the agency no longer exists, argues Israel, then the refugee issue must no longer exist, and the legitimate right for Palestinian refugees to return to their land will be unnecessary. Israel has denied that right of return since the late 1940s, even though its own membership of the UN was made conditional upon Palestinian refugees being allowed to return to their homes and land.

“If implemented, the decision will have a disastrous impact on the people we support,” Lazzarini said on X, underlining that other UN agencies already acknowledged that “they cannot fill the void” of UNRWA.

He reminded that, in the absence of UNRWA, the responsibility to provide assistance to those in need fell on Israel as occupying power.

The Israeli Knesset, or parliament, voted last October to ban UNRWA’s operations in areas under Israeli control, citing allegations that some Agency employees were involved in the cross-border attack on Israel by the Palestinian group Hamas on 7 October, 2023, a charge the Agency denies.

If enforced, the ban would lead to the closure of UNRWA’s offices and the freezing of its financial accounts in Israel, effectively halting its operations.

Established in 1949, UNRWA has been a vital lifeline for Palestinian refugees, providing services to nearly 5.9 million people across Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.

READ: UNRWA: Hospitals in Gaza have become death traps