UNITED States top diplomat Marco Rubio says the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) “is not going to play any role” in aid delivery in Gaza, as he also rejected the possibility of Hamas being involved in any future governance of the Strip.
Speaking during a news conference while on a visit to Israel on Friday, the US secretary of state claimed UNRWA had become “a subsidiary of Hamas”, echoing an Israeli government line that has been discredited by the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
In response, UNRWA insisted that its presence “remains vital to meeting urgent humanitarian needs” across the bombarded and starved enclave, where a deadly Israeli offensive has killed more than 68,000 Palestinians in two years.
In a statement posted on X, the agency also highlighted that the ICJ has recognised that “no organisation can replace the UNRWA’s role in supporting the people of Gaza”.
Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, also dismissed Rubio’s characterisation. “You’ve already heard us talk about how UNRWA is not linked to Hamas,” he told reporters at the UN. “UNRWA is the backbone of our humanitarian operations in Gaza.”
Israel banned the agency from operating after accusing some of its staff of taking part in the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack without providing evidence.
Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh said the proclamation by Rubio that UNRWA was a Hamas “subsidiary” is “quite shocking” and “devastating” for UNRWA and all who are involved in Gaza.
UNRWA was not only exonerated by the ICJ and two separate commissions of inquiry, but also has the largest, most extensive aid mechanism in Gaza, Odeh said.
“It has thousands of employees, it has the data to distribute aid to Palestinians with dignity and in an orderly fashion,” she said.
Despite a US-mediated ceasefire that took effect earlier this month, Israel has continued launching attacks across Gaza. At least two people were killed in shelling east of Deir el-Balah in central Gaza on Friday, a source at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital told Al Jazeera Arabic.
Israel has also kept the Rafah crossing near Egypt sealed, blocking large-scale aid deliveries that were stipulated in the truce agreement.
In his remarks on Friday, Rubio voiced hope of soon putting together an international security force to police the ceasefire in Gaza and said Israel, which opposes including Turkiye, could veto participants.
The force will have to be made up of countries that Israel is “comfortable with”, Rubio said.