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The IDF has decided it will work to dismantle the UN agency for Palestinians refugees in the Gaza Strip and replace it with an alternative, The Times of Israel has learned.
Israel has long argued that UNRWA should be disbanded, a position that has been strengthened amid the ongoing war against Hamas, but had previously acknowledged the agency’s key role in distributing essential relief to Gazans under the strain of a massive humanitarian crisis.
As part of its plans to find alternatives, Israel has begun to work with other groups in Gaza, such as the UN World Food Programme, to deliver humanitarian aid to Palestinians instead of UNRWA. Officials from the UN, US and elsewhere say that too little aid is getting into the Strip and have urged Israel to ramp up approvals for deliveries of relief, while also pushing ahead with alternative methods, such as airdrops and a soon to be opened sea corridor.
The IDF says it has deployed a campaign seeking to discredit the agency in a bid to weaken UNRWA’s status in the Gaza Strip and potentially cause it to disband.
As part of that campaign, defense officials recently presented evidence showing that at least 14 UNRWA staff members participated in the October 7 onslaught. The IDF has also accused UNRWA of employing some 450 terror operatives in Gaza, mostly Hamas members.
The revelations caused several donor countries to announce funding freezes, though some have since resumed.
UNRWA argues that it fills an essential role in providing relief for Gazans, especially during the current war on Hamas, underlined by recent struggles to deliver aid to parts of the Strip, which has led to ratcheted-up criticism of Israel.
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