The United Nations (UN) announced today that more than 565,000 people have crossed from the south to the north of Gaza since January 27.
Citing the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), spokesman Stephane Dujarric told a press conference that “more than 45,000 people have been observed moving from the north to the south of the Gaza Strip.”
He said the UN and its partners on the ground were “working to mitigate the impact of the widespread destruction of critical water, sanitation and hygiene infrastructure that has occurred across the Gaza Strip.”
Asked about US President Donald Trump’s upcoming executive order to withdraw from the UN Human Rights Council and block funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Gaza (UNRWA), Dujarric said:
“Obviously we will see what is signed properly. But the US will make the decision it makes. That does not change our position on the importance of the Human Rights Council.”
Describing the executive order as “something that is very new,” Dujarric affirmed that the decision would not change “the UN’s commitment to supporting UNRWA in its work and in its work to provide critical services to Palestinians under its jurisdiction, its mandate.”
U.S. funding for UNRWA was suspended in 2024 under the Joseph Biden administration after Israel accused 12,000 UNRWA staff in Gaza of involvement in a Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Amid the investigation into the allegations, at least 16 countries, including the U.S., have paused or suspended funding for the agency, and its aid is working to help the famine-stricken population of Gaza.
Most key donors have continued to provide aid, after an independent audit of UNRWA found that Israel had provided no evidence to support their claims.
UNRWA was established by the UN General Assembly more than 70 years ago to assist Palestinians forcibly displaced from their land.
Israel has ordered UNRWA to suspend all operations in East Jerusalem by Thursday, in accordance with a directive conveyed in a letter from Israel’s permanent representative to the UN, Danny Danon, to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on January 24.
Following the order, UNRWA evacuated its headquarters in Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem, where it has operated since 1951, as well as a clinic in the Old City and several schools, including a vocational training center.
The move came amid rising tensions between Israel and international organizations, as several UN bodies continue to express concern about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza and the West Bank, AA writes.
