Gaza Strip: +150 UN Agency Buildings Attacked by Israel

February 20, 2024 Hour: 8:30 pm

On Tuesday, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Middle East (Unwra) accused Israel of targeting 153 of its facilities in Gaza since last October 7.

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In northern Gaza schools are unrecognizable, reduced to rubble, while in the southern city of Rafah half the population has nowhere to go except to our centers, the UN institution stressed on its X (formerly Twiter) account.

Children should be in our schools to learn, not to protect themselves from bombs, it said.

Unwra is under fire following the indictment of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government against 12 of its 13,000 employees for allegedly participating in the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) operation last October 7.

Both the agency and the UN announced an immediate investigation, but many Western countries, including the United States, Germany, France and the United Kingdom, suspended their funding, although the allegations have not yet been proven.

International donors freezing funding to UNRWA will not only impact the agency’s operations in Gaza, but also the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, says UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini.

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— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish)
February 20, 2024

The head of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, accused the Israeli authorities this weekend of promoting a campaign aimed at destroying the agency.

In declarations to the Swiss newspaper group Tamedia, Lazzarini assured that this is a long-term political objective because they believe that eliminating the agency will resolve the status of Palestinian refugees, and with it, the right of return.

Just look at the number of actions Israel is taking against us, he said, citing among others the air strikes against its facilities in Gaza and the end of VAT exemptions for the agency.