Following allegations against twelve of the approximately 13,000 staff of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNRWA), the United Nations immediately dismissed ten of them. Two others have died. An internal UN investigation is also underway, ordered by its Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. All those responsible should be identified. However, the Israeli government has yet to provide any evidence for its claim that 10 percent of UNWRA personnel are linked to Hamas terrorists.
This Monday, February 12, Philippe Lazzarini will have to answer questions from the development aid ministers of the EU member states regarding the alleged involvement of his agency’s staff in the attack against Israel on October 7. His predecessor Pierre Krahenbühl had resigned from the post following major allegations of nepotism and abuse of power.
Germany stopped aid, Spain continued aid
Philippe Lazzarini has come to Brussels to appeal to the EU and its Member States to continue funding UNWRA. Nine member states, including Germany, have suspended payments to the aid organization until an investigation into the allegations is completed. Other member states such as Ireland and Belgium continue to pay.
Spain has increased its contribution to 3.5 million euros to guarantee more humanitarian aid to the population of the Gaza Strip. Portugal also wants to pay more than before. As far as the EU is concerned, it is not making any payments from its Community budget, according to EU Foreign Affairs Representative Josep Borrell.
After an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers, Borrell insisted that aid payments to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip must continue: “We will certainly advocate for checks and controls because of the gaps in accountability. ” “But I can say that the majority of the 27 member states believe that UNRWA cannot be replaced. I repeat, there is no replacement for UNRWA.”
UNRWA: Food aid to nearly two million Palestinians
The Palestinian Aid Organization feeds approximately two million people not only in the Gaza Strip, but also in the West Bank, Jordan and Lebanon. It also performs medical work and provides education.
Josep Borrell asked, “Who will replace him overnight?” “UNRWA plays an important role. It is true that the Israeli government is very critical of UNRWA, not only now, but also before. But we cannot punish two million people.”
German Development Aid Minister Svenja Schulze (SPD) believes that UNRWA funding will continue after the incidents are resolved. “I can’t imagine that we won’t continue to support the suffering and the needs in this region. We have to help. Israel can also help the people in this region,” Eschultz said in an interview with German channel NTV in January. Is interested.”
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Death and despair in Gaza
A humanitarian disaster is looming in the Gaza Strip. The number of deaths and injured has increased after the Israeli army’s attack in response to the attack by the terrorist organization Hamas.
Image: Fatima Shabair/AP/Picture Coalition
An image of mass destruction: Three days after attacks by Hamas, which the European Union and the United States classify as a terrorist organization, Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip has intensified. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised revenge: “What we do to our enemies in the coming days will echo for generations.”
Image: Belal Al SabbaghAFP/Getty Images
According to information from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), about 800 buildings have been destroyed in the Gaza Strip and more than 5,000 are seriously damaged. Additionally, approximately 400,000 people may have been left without access to water services.
Image: Mohammed Talaten/dpa/Picture Coalition
search for survivors
Rescue workers search for survivors after an airstrike on a refugee camp in Jabaliya, north of the Gaza Strip. According to local officials, so far 830 people have been killed and 4,200 injured in air strikes in Gaza. Nearly 900 people are reported dead and more than 2,600 injured on the Israeli side following Hamas attacks.
Image: Mahmoud Hames/AFP/Getty Images
A child also lost his life in the attack on the refugee camp in Jabaliya. A man holds in his arms the body of the deceased, who will be buried with other dead people. According to health officials in Gaza, the dead included more than 140 children and more than 100 women.
Image: Mahmoud Hames/AFP/Getty Images
Sitting on the roof of a van, Palestinians flee Israeli bombardment. The United Nations reports that more than 187,000 people have fled their homes. About 137,000 will be housed in schools, with another 40,000 seeking shelter in private residences. After Israel closed the exit from the Gaza Strip, it is no longer possible to escape from there.
Image: Saleh Salem/Reuters
Israel controls the border with Gaza
Israeli soldiers guard the border with Gaza. On the night of 7 October, Hamas Islamic militias managed to enter Israeli territory through several border points. The kilometer-long border fence between the Palestinian territories and Israel was built in 1994. Apart from this, there is also a several kilometer long fence installed on the border between Gaza Strip and Egypt.
Image: Oren Ziv/AP/Picture Coalition
movement of troops on the border
After the Israeli government mobilized approximately 300,000 reserve troops, many fear a ground attack by the Israeli military. Military vehicles and equipment have been concentrated along the border with Gaza. Similarly, the population of border towns in Israel has been almost completely evacuated.
Image: Ilya Yefimovich/dpa/Picture Alliance
The fear of humanitarian disaster is increasing in the Gaza Strip. Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, warned of “complete devastation”. In his opinion, “collective punishment” against the population is a violation of international law. “If injured children die in hospitals due to lack of electricity, it could be considered a war crime,” he said.
Image: Mahmoud Hames/AFP/Getty Images
Hamas military chief Yahya Sinwar
Yahya Sinwar, the military chief of Hamas in the Gaza Strip since 2017, is considered one of the masterminds behind terrorist attacks against Israel. Here in a photo from 2022, the extremist grew up in a refugee camp in Gaza and is the second most powerful person after the leader of Hamas. According to Sinwar, Palestinians are martyrs who would rather die than be humiliated.
Image: Mohammed Abed/AFP
The cycle of violence continues. A Hamas spokesman told news agencies that whenever Israel launches an airstrike against civilians without warning, an Israeli hostage will be killed. For his part, Israel’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen reacted to the threat and replied that “war crimes” against hostages would not be forgiven.
