The UN relief agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has denied media reports that it will be shutting down its operations in Gaza and the occupied West Bank following an Israeli ban.
On Thursday, The New York Times eported that they are "preparing to close down operations in both territories" due to the laws that would prohibit Israeli officials from interacting with the agency.
The article quotes Louise Wateridge, a senior UNRWA official on the ground in Gaza, who said that the agency needed to coordinate with Israel every time its workers delivered aid or moved on the ground.
"If we can't share that information with Israeli authorities on a daily basis then we have staff lives in danger," Wateridge said.
However, Juliette Touma, director of communications at UNRWA, described the claim as "grossly inaccurate".
The UNRWA official pointed out that the agency's director, Philippe Lazzarini, had previously that the agency's teams are "committed to stay and deliver" while the Israeli Knesset implements a bill banning the agency from operating in Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank.
"If someone had an opinion it doesn't mean it's true," Touma told °®Âþµº.
Israel approved a bill last week banning the agency from operating and passed a measure to prevent Israeli officials from working with UNRWA and its employees.
The bill will take effect in just under four weeks amid ongoing fears that this will lead to the "collapse" of humanitarian work in the war-torn Gaza Strip.
UNRWA has provided essential aid, schooling and healthcare across the Palestinian territories and to Palestinian refugees for over seven decades.
However, ever since its brutal war on Gaza began, Israel has accused the agency and its staff of being affiliated with Hamas and taking part in the 7 October 2023 attacks, without providing evidence. It has launched an aggressive public relations campaign against the agency.
Many countries temporarily or permanently halted funding to UNRWA as a result, causing further hardship to millions of Gazans who relied on the agency for lifesaving aid.
Israel has also moved to designate UNRWA as a "terrorist" organisation amid fears that this will lead to the direct targeting of UNRWA facilities and staff.