UN World Food Programme says it cannot replace UNRWA in Gaza
Bernama
November 3, 2024 10:19 MYT
November 3, 2024 10:19 MYT
Smoke rises in northern Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, as seen from Israel, October 7, 2024. File pic by REUTERS/Amir Cohen
GAZA/TEL AVIV: The World Food Programme (WFP) cannot serve as a replacement for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in the Gaza Strip, the head of the WFP Berlin office told media, reported German news agency (dpa).
"We cannot replace the important functions of the UNRWA in Gaza, such as the administration of emergency shelters, schools and health centres," Martin Frick told German media group Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND) in comments published on Saturday.
Earlier in the week, the Israeli Parliament approved controversial bills restricting the operations of the agency in the Gaza Strip.
Frick said the UNRWA is the backbone of humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip and ensures "nutrition, protection and medical care for a population that is experiencing inhumanity".
Israel has said that, once its UNRWA ban comes into force in around three months, it will ensure humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip with the help of other organisations.
-- BERNAMA