Officers Recommend Halt to Smear Campaign Against UNRWA, Australia Reviews Accusations
Israel Defense Forces officers advised the chief of staff to halt the smear campaign against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), while Australia stated that it is reviewing accusations made against the agency, which recently warned that residents in Gaza “are dying before the eyes of the world.”
Israeli Channel 12 reported that senior officers in the army have recommended to Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi to cease the current widespread campaign of defamation against UNRWA, at least for the time being. The officers advised against expanding the defamation of the agency, particularly ahead of the upcoming U.S. congressional discussion and the political level in Israel, in order to determine the mechanisms for dealing with UNRWA and finding alternatives to it.
They pointed out that the leaks about the agency, which led countries to suspend their funding, were not organized Israeli leaks. According to the channel, the officers fear that a campaign of defamation against UNRWA before finding an alternative would have very negative consequences in the Gaza Strip.
Israel had accused 12 agency employees of involvement in attacks by the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) on Israel on October 7, 2023, on settlements in the vicinity of the Gaza Strip, prompting 18 countries and the European Union to suspend funding for the agency.
Study of Accusations
In a related development, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated on Sunday that his government is investigating allegations that some UNRWA employees were involved in the attacks on October 7, after Australia suspended its funding for the agency last month.
According to a written statement, Albanese told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation regarding these accusations, “We are investigating this issue alongside other like-minded countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. We want to resolve it.”
Albanese stated that his government wants to ensure a “full examination of the allegations” so that all funding goes “for the purpose it was intended for,” confirming that he does not want “people to die of hunger” in Gaza and that “the only organization that can provide this support there is UNRWA.”
Last month, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Finland joined the United States, Australia, and Canada in suspending funding for the relief agency, while the agency stated it had opened an investigation of several employees and cut ties with these people.
Dying Before the Eyes of the World
In a tweet on its X account yesterday, UNRWA warned that residents of Gaza “are dying before the eyes of the world” in a unique catastrophe. The agency pointed out the escalating humanitarian crisis and famine in Gaza, amidst Israeli attacks and the blockade, stating, “An unprecedented catastrophe is happening before our eyes in Gaza,” emphasizing that “people are dying before the eyes of the world.”
The agency, which counted the United States, Germany, and the European Union among its largest donors in 2022, has repeatedly confirmed that its ability to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza is on the verge of collapse.
Earlier, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres described UNRWA in January as “the backbone of all humanitarian relief operations in Gaza” and urged all countries to “ensure the continuity of UNRWA’s life-saving work.”
