Israel’s UN ambassador criticises Guterres over UNRWA continuity comments
Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, has criticised the UN’s secretary general, António Guterres, over his call for donor states to “guarantee the continuity” of UNRWA (see post at 07.32 for more details).
It came after Britain, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Finland joined the United States, Australia and Canada in pausing funding after UNRWA revealed an investigation had been launched into 12 members of staff who allegedly took part in the 7 October attack led by Hamas that killed 1,140 people.
Erdan said the UN chief had repeatedly ignored “evidence” presented to him regarding UNRWA’s involvement in “incitement and terrorism”.
“Every country that continues to fund UNRWA before a comprehensive investigation of the organisation should know that its money might be used for terrorism, and the aid that will be transferred to UNRWA may reach the Hamas terrorists instead of the people of Gaza,” he wrote on X on Sunday.
The UN Secretary-General has proven once again that the security of the citizens of Israel is not really important for him. After years in which he ignored the evidence presented to him personally about UNRWA’s support and involvement in incitement and terrorism, and before he… pic.twitter.com/L8DfdUSeYG
— Ambassador Gilad Erdan גלעד ארדן (@giladerdan1) January 28, 2024
“The abhorrent alleged acts of these staff members must have consequences,” Guterres said in a statement.
“But the tens of thousands of men and women who work for UNRWA, many in some of the most dangerous situations for humanitarian workers, should not be penalized. The dire needs of the desperate populations they serve must be met,” he added.
Key events
The CIA director, Bill Burns, is expected to meet the head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, David Barnea, the Qatari prime minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, and the Egyptian intelligence chief, Abbas Kamel, to discuss fresh efforts to free the 136 remaining hostages held by Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza.
You can read more on what could feature in the meeting in France here:
Israel’s war in Gaza has caused a severe humanitarian crisis, with most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people left homeless and acutely short of food, water, medicine and fuel.
Here are some of the latest images coming out of the enclave from the newswires:
Turkey is concerned by the decision of some countries to suspend funding for the UN agency for Palestinians, and urges them to reconsider their move, the Turkish foreign ministry said on Sunday.
In a statement, the ministry said the suspension of funding primarily harmed Palestinian civilians.
“Working under very difficult conditions, UNRWA meets the vital needs of millions of Palestine refugees. Since 7 October, more than 150 UNRWA personnel have been killed by Israel in Gaza,” it added.
The UK’s defence secretary, Grant Shapps, said the UK remained “undaunted” after Houthis attacked the HMS Diamond in the Red Sea during their latest round of strikes.
Crew on the ship shot down a drone deployed by the Yemen-based group, which appears undeterred despite UK-US military action against the rebels earlier this week.
No injuries or damage were sustained, the Ministry of Defence said.
In a post on X, Shapps wrote: “The UK remains undaunted after yesterday’s illegal attack on HMS Diamond by the Iranian backed Houthis. Our commitment to protect innocent lives and the freedom of navigation is absolutely unwavering.”
The UK remains undaunted after yesterday’s illegal attack on @HMSDiamond by the Iranian backed Houthis.
Our commitment to protect innocent lives and the freedom of navigation is absolutely unwavering. https://t.co/Rt8yKsG2py
— Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) January 28, 2024
The MoD earlier described ongoing action by the Houthis as “intolerable and illegal”, and said Britain and its allies “reserve the right to respond appropriately” (see post at 12.18 for more details).
It comes after a British-linked oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden was sent up in flames for hours by another rebel strike.
The Houthis have repeatedly launched attacks on vessels around the Red Sea over Israel’s war in Gaza, although they have frequently targeted ships with tenuous or no clear links to Israel.
Countries pausing funding to key UN aid agency ‘overtly defies’ ICJ order
A UN expert has warned that countries pausing funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees were breaching a international court of justice order to provide effective aid in Gaza.
Britain, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Finland joined the United States, Australia and Canada in pausing funding after UNRWA revealed an investigation had been launched into 12 members of staff who allegedly took part in the 7 October attack led by Hamas that killed 1,140 people.
Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, warned that the decision to pause funding to UNRWA “overtly defies” the order by the ICJ to allow effective humanitarian assistance” to reach Gazans.
“This will entail legal responsibilities – or the demise of the (international) legal system,” she wrote on X.
Defunding UNRWA at this critical time overtly defies @ICJ’s order to allow effective humanitarian assistance “to address the adverse conditions of life faced by Palestinians in Gaza”. This will entail legal responsibilities – or the demise of the int’l legal system. https://t.co/xEc80VaMEO
— Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) January 28, 2024
Pope Francis has urged respect for civilians in conflict areas and said people were tired of wars, which he called a “disaster for the peoples and a defeat for humanity”.
After his weekly Angelus prayer in St Peter’s Square, the pope said the population must be respected also in the Middle East, hit by the war between Israel and Hamas.
British warship repels Houthi drone attack in the Red Sea – officials
A British warship, the HMS Diamond, repelled a drone attack on Saturday from Yemen’s Houthi group in the Red Sea, British officials have said.
The Ministry of Defence said in a statement on Sunday:
Deploying her Sea Viper missile system, Diamond destroyed a drone targeting her with no injuries or damage sustained to Diamond or her crew.
These intolerable and illegal attacks are completely unacceptable and it is our duty to protect the freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.
Summary of the day so far…
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Gaza’s health ministry spokesperson, Ashraf al-Qidra, was quoted by Reuters as saying “there is a complete failure of the healthcare system at Nasser and al-Amal hospitals”. Palestinian medics and residents said Israel continued to bomb areas around the two main hospitals in the southern city of Khan Younis. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said medical teams at Amal hospital would be unable to perform surgeries because oxygen supplies were depleted.
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At least 26,422 Palestinians have been killed and 65,087 injured in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October, the Gaza health ministry said on Sunday. Over the past day, 165 Palestinians were killed and 290 injured, the ministry added.
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The UN secretary general, António Guterres, has pleaded for donor states to “guarantee the continuity” of the body’s Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) after several halted funding over accusations of staff involvement in Hamas’s 7 October attack on Israel. Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, criticised these comments, saying the UN chief had repeatedly ignored “evidence” presented to him regarding UNRWA’s involvement in “incitement and terrorism”.
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Jan Egeland, the secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said that “lifesaving aid” in Gaza is being threatened by donors “recklessly suspending aid” to UNRWA. Britain, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Finland joined the United States, Australia and Canada in pausing funding to the agency.
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Talks aimed at brokering a fresh agreement to release further Israeli hostages in Gaza in exchange for a pause in fighting are expected as US, Qatari, Israeli and Egyptian officials meet in France. The Associated Press reported that US negotiators including the CIA director, Bill Burns, have provided a framework for negotiations focused on a two-month pause in fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas.
Reuters has this on the desperate plight of some of the families fleeing Khan Younis because of Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip’s second largest city:
More families were displaced from Khan Younis on Sunday. Some people took dirt roads to get closer to the city of Rafah along the border with Egypt or Deir al-Balah to the north.
Others headed west to an area called al-Mawasi where residents described being crammed into a small area.
“It is as crowded as it can get,” said electrician Abu Raouf, a father of four. “People have lost their ability to think, their ability to feel, they are moving like robots, it is just a matter of time before Israel sends tanks into here as well, there is no place safe.”
Reem Abu Tair left Khan Younis in the cold with three children, one of them an infant.
“We managed to save our lives, we escaped bombings and the destruction that is surrounding us only to end up in the cold. So, if a child does not die from the bombing, he will die from the cold,” Abu Tair said.
Gaza health ministry: healthcare systems at Nasser and al-Amal hospitals have completely failed
Gaza’s health ministry spokesperson, Ashraf Al-Qidra, has been quoted by Reuters as saying “there is a complete failure of the healthcare system at Nasser and al-Amal hospitals”.
Palestinian medics and residents said Israel continued to bomb areas around the two main hospitals in the southern city of Khan Younis.
As we reported earlier, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said medical teams at Amal hospital would be unable to perform surgeries because oxygen supplies were depleted.
Nasser hospital was reportedly completely without power overnight. In a statement released on Friday, Médecins Sans Frontières said:
Amid ongoing heavy fighting and bombing in Khan Younis, south Gaza, Palestine/OPT, vital medical services have collapsed at Nasser hospital, currently the largest functioning health facility in the enclave. Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) deplores a situation in which people have been left with no options to go for treatment in case of a large influx of war wounded…
Between 300 and 350 patients remain at Nasser hospital, unable to evacuate because it is too dangerous and there are no ambulances. These patients have war-related injuries such as open wounds, lacerations from explosions, fractures, and burns.
Norwegian Refugee Council head: UNRWA’s ‘lifesaving aid’ in Gaza threatened by donors ‘recklessly suspending’ donations
Jan Egeland, the secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, has said that “lifesaving aid” in Gaza is being threatened by donors “recklessly suspending aid” to UNRWA, theUnited Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees.
“UNRWA has rightly terminated the contracts of those alleged to violate our neutrality principle,” he wrote on X.
“Donors, do not starve children for the sins of a few individual aid workers.”
UNRWA’s lifesaving aid in Gaza threatened by donors recklessly suspending aid. UNRWA has rightly terminated the contracts of those alleged to violate our neutrality principle. Donors, do not starve children for the sins of a few individual aid workers. https://t.co/nUbeX2Iwrp
— Jan Egeland (@NRC_Egeland) January 28, 2024
At least nine countries, including top donors the US and Germany, have paused funding after UNRWA revealed an investigation had been launched into 12 members of staff who allegedly took part in the 7 October attack led by Hamas that killed 1,140 people.
Aid officials have warned the risk of deaths from preventable disease, as well as the risk of famine, are growing as the flows of aid like food and medicine into the territory is a fraction of what it was before the war.
Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people are now reliant on the aid UNRWA provides, including about one million who have fled Israeli bombardments sheltering in its facilities, according to Reuters.
Israeli fighter jets have struck two Hezbollah sites in the towns of Zibqin and Houla in Lebanon, Al Jazeera quoted Daniel Hagari, the Israeli military spokesperson, as saying.
Israel’s UN ambassador criticises Guterres over UNRWA continuity comments
Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, has criticised the UN’s secretary general, António Guterres, over his call for donor states to “guarantee the continuity” of UNRWA (see post at 07.32 for more details).
It came after Britain, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Finland joined the United States, Australia and Canada in pausing funding after UNRWA revealed an investigation had been launched into 12 members of staff who allegedly took part in the 7 October attack led by Hamas that killed 1,140 people.
Erdan said the UN chief had repeatedly ignored “evidence” presented to him regarding UNRWA’s involvement in “incitement and terrorism”.
“Every country that continues to fund UNRWA before a comprehensive investigation of the organisation should know that its money might be used for terrorism, and the aid that will be transferred to UNRWA may reach the Hamas terrorists instead of the people of Gaza,” he wrote on X on Sunday.
The UN Secretary-General has proven once again that the security of the citizens of Israel is not really important for him. After years in which he ignored the evidence presented to him personally about UNRWA’s support and involvement in incitement and terrorism, and before he… pic.twitter.com/L8DfdUSeYG
— Ambassador Gilad Erdan גלעד ארדן (@giladerdan1) January 28, 2024
“The abhorrent alleged acts of these staff members must have consequences,” Guterres said in a statement.
“But the tens of thousands of men and women who work for UNRWA, many in some of the most dangerous situations for humanitarian workers, should not be penalized. The dire needs of the desperate populations they serve must be met,” he added.