Israeli attempts to discredit UN refugee agency ‘unsuccessful’: Jordan

By Laith Junaidi

AMMAN, Jordan (AA) – Jordan said Sunday that Israeli attempts to discredit the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) have been unsuccessful.

“The accusations against UNRWA have proved to be false, and attempts to politically discredit the agency had failed,” Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi told a press conference in Amman with UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini.

Safadi termed the humanitarian situation in the war-battered Gaza Strip as “catastrophic.”

“Any other party can’t replace the UNRWA role,” he added.

The Jordanian minister said the UN refugee agency faces major financial challenges after 16 countries suspended funding for UNRWA amid Israeli accusations.

“Some 14 countries have now resumed their financial support for the agency,” he added.

For his part, Lazzarini said humanitarian aid reaching the Gaza Strip has been “minuscule.”

“Approximately half a million people now live in destroyed structures,” he said. “There is no safe place in Gaza.”

Lazzarini said 198 UNRWA employees had been killed in the Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip.

“Around 160 UNRWA facilities have been destroyed or damaged,” he added.

In January, some 18 countries and the European Union suspended their funding for UNRWA against the backdrop of Israeli allegations that 12 agency employees may have been involved in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.

In March, however, several countries rescinded their decision and decided to resume funding for the UN refugee agency.

Israel continued its brutal offensive on Gaza despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

More than 35,400 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, the vast majority being women and children, and over 79,300 others injured since October following an attack by Hamas.

More than seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of “genocide” at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered Tel Aviv to ensure its forces do not commit acts of genocide and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi