www.reuters.com Open in urlscan Pro
2600:9000:235a:8000:15:5a3e:9d40:93a1  Public Scan

Form analysis
0 forms found in the DOM

Text Content

Skip to main content

Exclusive news, data and analytics for financial market professionalsLearn more
aboutRefinitiv

 * World
   Browse World
    * Africa
    * Americas
    * Asia Pacific
    * China
    * Europe
    * India
    * Israel and Hamas at War
   
    * Japan
    * Middle East
    * Ukraine and Russia at War
    * United Kingdom
    * United States
    * Reuters NEXT

 * US Election
 * Business
   Browse Business
    * Aerospace & Defense
    * Autos & Transportation
    * Davos
    * Energy
    * Environment
    * Finance
    * Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals
   
    * Media & Telecom
    * Retail & Consumer
    * Future of Health
    * Future of Money
    * Take Five
    * World at Work

 * Markets
   Browse Markets
    * Asian Markets
    * Carbon Markets
    * Commodities
    * Currencies
    * Deals
    * Emerging Markets
    * ETFs
    * European Markets
   
    * Funds
    * Global Market Data
    * Rates & Bonds
    * Stocks
    * U.S. Markets
    * Wealth
    * Macro Matters

 * Sustainability
   Browse Sustainability
    * Boards, Policy & Regulation
    * Climate & Energy
    * Land Use & Biodiversity
    * Society & Equity
   
    * Sustainable Finance & Reporting
    * The Switch
    * Reuters Impact
    * COP29

 * Legal
   Browse Legal
    * Government
    * Legal Industry
    * Litigation
    * Transactional
    * US Supreme Court

 * Breakingviews
   Browse Breakingviews
    * Breakingviews Predictions

 * Technology
   Browse Technology
    * Artificial Intelligence
    * Cybersecurity
    * Space
    * Disrupted

 * More
   Investigations
   Sports
    * Athletics
    * Baseball
    * Basketball
    * Cricket
    * Cycling
    * Formula 1
    * Golf
    * NFL
    * NHL
    * Soccer
    * Tennis
   
   Science
   Lifestyle
   Graphics
   Pictures
   Wider Image
   Podcasts
   Fact Check
   Video
   Sponsored Content
    * Reuters Plus
    * Press Releases

My News

Sign InRegister

 * Middle East
 * Israel and Hamas at War


UNRWA BAN COULD KILL MORE CHILDREN IN GAZA, UNICEF SAYS

By Emma Farge
October 29, 20245:58 PM GMTUpdated 2 days ago
Text
 * Small Text
 * Medium Text
 * Large Text

Share
 * X
 * Facebook
 * Linkedin
 * Email
 * Link

 * Summary

 * UN humanitarian office says ban could represent new form of 'collective
   punishment'
 * UNRWA has about 1,000 health workers in Gaza
 * Israel says it makes all possible efforts to avoid civilian casualties

GENEVA, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Israel's decision to ban the U.N. relief agency UNRWA
could result in the deaths of more children and represent a form of collective
punishment for Gazans if fully implemented, U.N. agencies said on Tuesday.
A law passed by Israel on Monday to ban the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency from
operating inside Israel has raised concerns about its ability to provide relief
in Gaza after over a year of war. The agency, which employs thousands of people
in Gaza, provides nearly the entire population of the coastal enclave with basic
supplies and needs access through Israel.
Advertisement · Scroll to continue

"If UNRWA is unable to operate, it'll likely see the collapse of the
humanitarian system in Gaza," said UNICEF spokesperson James Elder, who has
worked extensively in Gaza since the Oct. 7 war began. "So a decision such as
this suddenly means that a new way has been found to kill children."
Palestinian health authorities' data show that over 13,300 children whose
identities have been confirmed have been killed in the Gaza war. Many more are
believed to have died from diseases due to a collapsing medical system and food
and water shortages.
Advertisement · Scroll to continue

Other U.N. agencies described UNRWA's work as indispensable.
Item 1 of 4 Palestinian children gather at a destroyed vehicle, amid the
Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, October 27,
2024. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
[1/4]Palestinian children gather at a destroyed vehicle, amid the Israel-Hamas
conflict, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, October 27, 2024.
REUTERS/Mohammed Salem Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

The World Health Organization's Tarik Jasarevic said that about a third of the
healthcare workers helping with the ongoing polio vaccination campaign for
children in Gaza work with UNRWA. UNRWA has about 1,000 health workers in Gaza,
he added.
In response to a question about whether the ban represented a form of collective
punishment against Gazans, U.N. humanitarian office spokesperson Jens Laerke
said: "I think it is a fair description of what they have decided here, if
implemented, that this would add to the acts of collective punishment that we
have seen imposed on Gaza."

Collective punishment, which amounts to a war crime, is a term referring to
sanctions or harassment against a group taken in retaliation for acts by
individual members of that group.
Israel says it makes all possible efforts to avoid civilian casualties and
accuses Palestinian militant group Hamas of deliberately basing its fighters in
residential areas and using civilians as human shields.
Explaining the ban, Israeli officials cited the involvement of UNRWA staffers in
the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on southern Israel which triggered the Gaza
war. The U.N. said in August that nine UNRWA staff may have been involved in the
attacks and fired them.

The head of the International Organization for Migration, Amy Pope, said IOM
could not replace UNRWA in Gaza but that it could provide more relief to those
in crisis.

The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start
your day. Sign up here.

Reporting by Emma Farge, Editing by Miranda Murray and Ros Russell

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Share
 * X
 * Facebook
 * Linkedin
 * Email
 * Link

Purchase Licensing Rights
Emma Farge

Thomson Reuters

Emma Farge reports on the U.N. beat and Swiss news from Geneva since 2019. She
has produced a string of exclusives on diplomacy, the environment and global
trade and covered Switzerland’s first war crimes trial. Her Reuters career
started in 2009 covering oil swaps from London and she has since written about
the West African Ebola outbreak, embedded with U.N. troops in north Mali and was
the first reporter to enter deposed Gambian dictator Yahya Jammeh’s estate. She
co-authored a winning story for the Elizabeth Neuffer Memorial Prize on Russia’s
diplomatic isolation in 2022 and was also part of a team of journalists
nominated in 2012 as Pulitzer finalists in the international reporting category
for coverage of the Libyan revolution. She holds a BA from Oxford University
(First) and an MSc from the LSE in International Relations. She is currently on
the board of the press association for UN correspondents in Geneva (ACANU).

 * Email
 * Linkedin


READ NEXT

 * WorldcategoryLebanon, Israel could agree to ceasefire within days, Lebanese
   prime minister says
 * Middle EastcategoryIsrael wages deadly Gaza strikes as northern areas issue
   plea for help
 * Middle EastcategoryLebanon's only burn unit treats toddlers after Israeli
   strikes
 * Middle EastcategoryUS urges Israel to protect civilian lives, cultural sites
   in Lebanon
 * WorldcategoryLebanon ceasefire possible within weeks, Cypriot president says
   after Biden talks
 * WorldcategoryFormer UK soldier accused of helping Iran tells jurors he is
   against Tehran




WORLD


 * TAIWAN SHUTS DOWN AS STRONG TYPHOON KONG-REY HITS, ONE DEAD
   
   Environmentcategory · October 31, 2024 · 7:38 AM GMT · 30 min ago
   
   A strong Typhoon Kong-rey made landfall on Taiwan's east coast on Thursday,
   the largest storm by size to hit the island in nearly 30 years, closing
   financial markets, causing hundreds of flights to be cancelled and reducing
   rail services.

 * Asia PacificcategoryIndonesia to respond appropriately to South China Sea
   incidents, official says7:38 AM GMT · Updated 31 min ago
 * WorldcategoryEXPLAINER-What are solid-fuel missiles, and why is North Korea
   developing them?7:37 AM GMT · Updated 31 min ago
 * EuropecategoryUkraine's military says Russian forces attacked bridge in Odesa
   region overnight7:28 AM GMT · Updated 40 min ago
 * EuropecategoryRussian-held town in eastern Ukraine equips buses with drone
   jammers7:09 AM GMT · Updated an hour ago




SITE INDEX


LATEST

 * Home
 * Authors
 * Topic Sitemap
 * Archive
 * Article Sitemap


BROWSE

 * World
 * Business
 * Markets
 * Sustainability
 * Legal
 * Breakingviews
 * Technology
 * Investigations
 * Sports
 * Science
 * Lifestyle


MEDIA

 * 
   Videos
 * 
   Pictures
 * 
   Graphics
 * 
   Podcasts


ABOUT REUTERS

 * About Reuters, opens new tab
 * Careers, opens new tab
 * Reuters News Agency, opens new tab
 * Brand Attribution Guidelines, opens new tab
 * Reuters and AI, opens new tab
 * Reuters Leadership, opens new tab
 * Reuters Fact Check
 * Reuters Diversity Report, opens new tab


STAY INFORMED

 * Download the App (iOS), opens new tab
 * Download the App (Android), opens new tab
 * Newsletters


INFORMATION YOU CAN TRUST

Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world’s largest
multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day.
Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to
professionals via desktop terminals, the world's media organizations, industry
events and directly to consumers.


FOLLOW US

 * X
 * Facebook
 * Instagram
 * Youtube
 * Linkedin


THOMSON REUTERS PRODUCTS

 * WESTLAW, OPENS NEW TAB
   
   BUILD THE STRONGEST ARGUMENT RELYING ON AUTHORITATIVE CONTENT,
   ATTORNEY-EDITOR EXPERTISE, AND INDUSTRY DEFINING TECHNOLOGY.

 * ONESOURCE, OPENS NEW TAB
   
   THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE SOLUTION TO MANAGE ALL YOUR COMPLEX AND EVER-EXPANDING
   TAX AND COMPLIANCE NEEDS.

 * CHECKPOINT, OPENS NEW TAB
   
   THE INDUSTRY LEADER FOR ONLINE INFORMATION FOR TAX, ACCOUNTING AND FINANCE
   PROFESSIONALS.


LSEG PRODUCTS

 * WORKSPACE, OPENS NEW TAB
   
   ACCESS UNMATCHED FINANCIAL DATA, NEWS AND CONTENT IN A HIGHLY-CUSTOMISED
   WORKFLOW EXPERIENCE ON DESKTOP, WEB AND MOBILE.

 * DATA CATALOGUE, OPENS NEW TAB
   
   BROWSE AN UNRIVALLED PORTFOLIO OF REAL-TIME AND HISTORICAL MARKET DATA AND
   INSIGHTS FROM WORLDWIDE SOURCES AND EXPERTS.

 * WORLD-CHECK, OPENS NEW TAB
   
   SCREEN FOR HEIGHTENED RISK INDIVIDUAL AND ENTITIES GLOBALLY TO HELP UNCOVER
   HIDDEN RISKS IN BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS AND HUMAN NETWORKS.

 * Advertise With Us, opens new tab
 * Advertising Guidelines
 * Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

 * Cookies, opens new tab
 * Terms of Use
 * Privacy, opens new tab
 * Digital Accessibility, opens new tab
 * Corrections
 * Site Feedback, opens new tab

All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of
exchanges and delays.

© 2024 Reuters. All rights reserved






RIGHT TO WITHDRAW CONSENT UNDER GDPR

We and our 151 partners store and/or access information on a device, such as
unique IDs in cookies to process personal data. You may accept or manage your
choices by clicking below, including your right to object where legitimate
interest is used, or at any time in the privacy policy page. These choices will
be signaled to our partners and will not affect browsing data.Cookie
PolicyPrivacy Statement


WE AND OUR PARTNERS PROCESS DATA TO PROVIDE:

Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for
identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised
advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research
and services development. List of Partners (vendors)

Allow All Reject All Show Purposes


Feedback