Israel has accused the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) for years of "perpetuating" the Palestinian refugee issue and causing them harm, but now - after five months of war in Gaza - the IDF and the security officials are actively working to dismantle the UN agency completely.
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This comes after a great deal of evidence and intelligence was collected, indicating the involvement of UNRWA employees in the October 7 massacre and terrorist activities, as well as the fact the agency deviated from the boundaries of its mandate in the Gaza Strip limited to matters of food supplies and employment, sanitation and education.
The move to dismantle the agency comes after reports in February indicated a dispute within the IDF regarding whether it was correct to “deface” UNRWA in front of the world and expose intelligence material about its employees' involvement in Hamas’s massacre in October.
According to the report published in The New York Times at the time, some senior military officials didn’t want to see UNRWA closed amid such a severe humanitarian crisis in the Strip, where evidence of severe hunger was emerging.
But a month has passed since that report, and these days Israel is making efforts to completely dismantle UNRWA. The IDF has been gearing up for a campaign in recent weeks to “uncover" the organization, and recently revealed two recordings of UNRWA teachers admitting to participating in the massacre in southern Israel - with one of them even boasting that he kidnapped a woman while mocking her in a conversation with a second terrorist on the line.
The military also added that according to intelligence indications, over 450 Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists in the Strip are being employed by UNRWA. In addition, the IDF recently uncovered a Hamas tunnel dug directly below UNRWA’s central headquarters in central Gaza— inside which Hamas server farms and significant intelligence materials were located.
In addition to the campaign, which has already affected international support for the agency and caused a number of countries to suspend or reduce funding for UNRWA, efforts were being made to find alternative bodies that could deliver food and aid to Palestinian refugees in the Strip. Israel's goal is to present viable and realistic alternatives to UNRWA, and to rally countries under the leadership of the U.S. to cooperate in those efforts.
The alternatives to UNRWA in Gaza
While Israel does not expect that the UN will revoke the agency's mandate (which will expire, if not renewed, on June 30, 2026), its hope is to prod at the agency and isolate it with the support of countries across the world.
In order to isolate UNRWA, Israel has developed several tools including refusing tax exemption and grants, refusing the transfer of goods through Israel, refusing visa requests and stay permits. Israel’s main goal is to hinder UNRWA's actions and make it an irrelevant in the Strip.
One of the notable alternatives being considered for UNRWA is the UN World Food Program (WFP), and discussions were already underway with representatives in Israel. In fact, the agency has already been operating in the Strip, and it reported back in February that it had to stopped sending food trucks to the northern part of the Strip due to the chaos and looting taking place there, by masses of hungry Palestinians.
The idea of an alternative being considered was already reported last month, when the American aid agency USAID, which was operating in Gaza on a limited basis – was discussed. Israel was considering expanding its operations in the Strip, subject to U.S. approval. More options being considered were civil organizations that would provide healthcare and education needs, or countries that would establish humanitarian shelters in Gaza.
Regarding healthcare facilities in the Strip - 20% of which are managed by UNRWA - the alternatives being considered by security officials include the International Organization for Migration, the International Committee of the Red Cross, as well as the involvement of Arab countries such as Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.
UNRWA also provides sanitation services for waste disposal in shelter facilities, and among the alternatives being considered for those needs were municipal bodies, the Palestinian Water Authority, USAID, Japanese and German aid organizations, United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), and the International Organization for Migration.
Israel expects UNRWA to also cease operating shelters for evacuees, and among the alternatives being considered were the International Organization for Migration the American aid organization Anera - as well as aid from the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.
The campaign to isolate UNRWA has succeeded in affecting the agency's funding, and its chief, Philippe Lazzarini, warned last week that the agency was “at risk of death, at risk of dismantlement.”
Lazzarini denied Israel's claims of the agency’s prior knowledge about its employees' involvement in terrorism and argued that he had never received any evidence on the matter. He added after the IDF reported that at least 450 UNRWA employees were involved in terrorism, that he “has never been informed” of any of his workers’ involvement with terror.
He warned, "Dismantling UNRWA is shortsighted. By doing so, we will sacrifice an entire generation of children, sowing the seeds of hatred, resentment, and future conflict. It’s naïve to think such a move could take place without threatening international peace and security.”
Regarding the severe humanitarian crisis in the Strip, which has increased pressure on Israel and led the U.S. to declare the establishment of a temporary port in Gaza to significantly increase aid to the northern part of the Strip, the IDF noted that about 300,000 people remain in the area today, with another 500,000 in central Gaza. In Khan Younis and Rafah there are now some 1.4 million refugees and residents.
According to the military’s data, over 16,000 aid trucks have been delivered to the Gaza Strip since the start of the war through the Rafah and Kerem Shalom border crossings - carrying over 198,000 tons of food and 29,500 tons of water.
In addition, Israel provides millions of liters of water daily via two water lines located in the southern and central Gaza Strip. Furthermore, over 2,220 aid trucks containing equipment for shelters and tents have entered the Strip so far.
Israel also enabled medical supplies, with over 18,700 tons of medical equipment and hygiene products into the enclave since the start of the war. However, it should be noted that between January and February, a 40% decrease in the volume of humanitarian aid to the Strip was marked - partly due to protests in the Kerem Shalom crossing, where demonstrators demanded an end to aid until the Israeli hostages were released.