New laws passed by Israel are threatening to impair humanitarian access in Gaza in a move that has sparked global concern for the millions of Palestinians almost entirely reliant on foreign aid for survival.
Israel's parliament approved legislation on Monday, local time, banning the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) — the chief aid agency in the Gaza Strip — from operating on Israeli territory.
It includes two provisions: The first prohibits UNRWA from conducting "any activity" within Israel, (which by extension could obstruct entry into the Palestinian territories it occupies), and the second strips its staff of their legal immunities and severs diplomatic relations with the agency.
Here's what to know about what UNRWA does and the impact restricting its operations could bear.
What does UNRWA do?
UNRWA was established to help the roughly 750,000 Palestinians who were displaced or fled to neighbouring regions following the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.
Today it is the largest humanitarian organisation in the Gaza Strip, where an estimated 1.7 million people depend on its assistance, as well as 200,000 in the West Bank.
The agency altogether serves between 2.5 to 3 million Palestinians in dozens of refugee camps spread across the Gaza Strip, West Bank, East Jerusalem, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. About 5.9 million refugees are eligible in total.
Education is UNRWA's biggest commitment, with more than half of its budget allocated to teaching children in 706 schools and vocational training centres.
Israel's restrictions could directly deprive more than 650,000 of these students, UNRWA's chief said.
Other programs delivered by UNRWA in shelters include distribution of food and water, primary healthcare, sanitation, employment, cash assistance and infrastructure works.
The funding split constitutes 15 per cent on health, 13 per cent on support services, 6 per cent on relief and social services, and 4 per cent on infrastructure and camp improvement.
It is unique in terms of its status as the only UN agency dedicated to helping refugees from a certain conflict in specific areas of operation.
These are defined as "persons whose normal place of residence was Palestine during the period 1 June 1946 to 15 May 1948, and who lost both home and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 conflict."
UNRWA's responsibilities are limited to the provision of services in its mandated regions. It does not own or operate the refugee shelters themselves.
Why is Israel banning UNRWA?
The politicians who drafted the laws cited what they described as the involvement of some UNRWA staffers in the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack that killed about 1,200 Israelis and took a further 250 hostage. They also alleged staffers had membership of Hamas and other armed groups.
Israel has claimed hundreds of Palestinian militant operatives work for UNRWA, and that agency staff participated in Hamas' terror attack in October last year.
An independent review of the agency released in April found UNRWA had robust structures in place to ensure its neutrality, and there was no evidence backing Israeli claims of terrorist infiltration.
In a separate investigation, finalised in August, the UN said nine UNRWA staff "may have" been involved in the October 7 assault on Israel. The staff members in question were fired, and another 10 were investigated, with no evidence found in one case and insufficient evidence found in the others.
UNRWA denies it knowingly aids armed groups and says it acts quickly to purge any suspected militants among its workers. It says Israel has largely ignored its requests to provide evidence for its claims against staffers, or provided information unable to be independently corroborated.
How does aid enter Gaza?
All aid trucks crossing into the enclave — which is surrounded by land to its north, south and east, and water to the west — must first make it through Israeli-controlled borders.
Currently, there are three established entry points for delivering aid to Gaza via land — the Erez crossing in the north, Kerem Shalom crossing in the south-east, and Rafah crossing in the south.
Rafah, which borders Egypt, was Gaza's only outlet to the outside world not controlled by Israel until the IDF took control of the Palestinian side of the crossing in May.
Air and sea operations remain under a total blockade.
According to UNRWA's supplies and dispatch tracking data since last October, it has most used the Kerem Shalom crossing, with 11,054 trucks transiting it through Israel carrying humanitarian cargo, food, fuel and critical supplies over 151 days.
A report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) released in May noted "the need for coordination with Israeli authorities for each movement to Kerem Shalom continued to limit its viability as an effective primary crossing".
Erez and Western Erez have let through 5,679 UNRWA trucks in the same period, being kept partially open for the most part, and completely closed since the start of October, according to OCHA.
Gate 96, opened as a pilot program "to prevent Hamas from taking over the aid", is used far less, while JLOTS, a pier built by the US to facilitate aid shipments through a maritime corridor from Cyprus, closed down after just 13 days in operation.
The UNRWA dataset does not have reporting on the agency's usage of the Rafah crossing.
Humanitarian Emergencies Lead at Caritas Australia Sally Thomas said the numbers showed there was "already too little aid getting into Gaza".
"About 28 trucks per day have made their way in so far this month, down from 500 per day before the start of this war just over a year ago. That's about 5 per cent of pre-conflict levels of aid, and the thought of that dropping further is incomprehensible," she said in a statement.
"Without a ceasefire and unimpeded humanitarian access widespread civilian deaths through starvation, malnutrition, dehydration, and lack of medical treatment are inevitable."
What could the impact of an UNRWA ban be?
Gaza's population of about 2.3 million is almost entirely dependent on aid to survive.
About 90 per cent of the population has been displaced; hundreds of thousands live in tent camps and schools-turned-shelters, most run by UNRWA, and UN experts say hunger is rampant.
Commissioner-General of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, said Israel's laws would "deepen the suffering" of civilians in Gaza who are already in the midst of "sheer hell".
"The vote by the Israeli Parliament (Knesset) against @UNRWA this evening is unprecedented and sets a dangerous precedent. It opposes the UN Charter and violates the State of Israel's obligations under international law," he wrote on X.
"These bills increase the suffering of the Palestinians & are nothing less than collective punishment."
Collective punishment, which amounts to a war crime, is a term referring to sanctions or harassment against a group taken in retaliation for acts by individual members of that group.
It could also have an immediate impact on aid delivery into northern Gaza, where about 100,000 people are currently marooned in Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun without medical or food supplies, according to the Palestinian Civil Emergency Service.
The agency maintains strong international support and has retained funding from most of its Western donors except the United States after it was suspended over its alleged involvement in Hamas' October 7, 2023 terror attack.
While Israel’s ban does not refer to operations in the Palestinian territories or elsewhere, the law would likely directly impact UNRWA institutions in East Jerusalem, which Israel annexed in a move deemed illegal by the International Court of Justice and not recognised by any country.
Before the legislation was passed, foreign ministers from France, Germany, Britain, Japan and South Korea, Canada and Australia issued a statement expressing "grave concern."
It said the agency provides "essential and life-saving humanitarian aid," the provision of which would be "severely hampered, if not impossible" without it.
Ahead of the vote, the US said it was "deeply concerned" about the bill, reiterating the "critical" role the agency plays in distributing humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip. Washington warned Israel earlier this month it had 30 days to increase the amount of aid reaching the territory or it would consider withholding some military assistance to its key ally.
It is also feared UNRWA employees in the West Bank could potentially face problems with visas and travel permits, moving from one place to another as well as accessing east Jerusalem or Israel because they would lose their ability to coordinate with the Israeli authorities to cross checkpoints.
"If UNRWA is unable to operate, it'll likely see the collapse of the humanitarian system in Gaza," said UNICEF spokesperson James Elder, who has worked extensively in Gaza since the war began.
Who would take over aid distribution?
One of the two Israeli bills passed on Monday, which bans UNRWA operations within Israel, is set to take effect within three months.
It is not clear when the second bill — stripping UNRWA staff of their legal immunities — will be implemented.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would ensure sustained humanitarian aid remained available in Gaza "now and in the future".
"In the 90 days before this legislation takes effect – and after – we stand ready to work with our international partners to ensure Israel continues to facilitate humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza in a way that does not threaten Israel's security," he wrote on social media.
Reports by The Times of Israel indicated the government's new arrangements may entail involvement of the military, with Mr Netanyahu reportedly "instructing" the IDF to be prepared for the possibility of taking over aid distribution.
Israel is reportedly considering subcontracting the job, but it has yet to put forth a concrete plan. Any such effort would likely require a large number of troops and other resources at a time when the country is at war on two fronts in Gaza and Lebanon.
UNRWA's chief spokesperson Juliette Touma said prior to the vote the proposed laws would be a "disaster" and have a serious impact on the humanitarian operation in Gaza and in the occupied West Bank.
"We know that previous attempts that aimed at replacing UNRWA and providing humanitarian assistance have failed miserably."
Other aid groups and UN agencies, including the World Health Organization, have described UNRWA's work as indispensable and say there is no substitute for the agency.
