To end hunger in Gaza, prepare UNRWA Israel’s conflict and the two

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNRWA) was established in December 1949, nearly two years after the United Nations voted in favor of the division of Palestine. It was, and still, the only United Nations agency is dedicated to only one population – the Palestinians.

In the contracts that followed, UNRWA participated in almost all aspects of Palestinian life – from distributing food to health care and education to providing facilities. Amid the genocide in Gaza, the agency was marginalized, and its operations were restricted under Israeli pressure.

Now, given the ceasefire on the horizon, we need UNRWA to restore its entire work and help put an end to the famine. It is the only organization that has the ability to distribute aid fairly and efficiently.

UNRWA has always been part of my family’s life. I studied my parents, and my brothers, in UNRWA schools, where we received free education under the supervision of dedicated teachers. We have also relied on UNRWA foods several times, especially when my family faced financial difficulties. In our childhood, we visited agency clinics regularly for primary health care, vaccines and basic treatment. This service has been always available, especially for those who could not withstand special care costs.

After the outbreak of the Israeli genocide in Gaza on October 7, 2023, UNRWA continued to provide services as much as possible. However, Israel, with the support of its Western allies, launched a fierce campaign against the agency. In January 2024, the Israeli government Claim Some UNRWA staff have participated in the attacks; As a result, 19 employees were investigated, and some of them were rejected.

These allegations gave the justification of Western donors to suspend their financing to UNRWA, including the United States and European Union members. This strongly affected UNRWA resources at a time when two million people were almost completely dependent on Gaza.

After announcing the ceasefire agreement in January this year, aid began to improve. UNRWA managed to resume the distribution of assistance in an organized and fair manner.

She had clear tables and dedicated aid centers in every neighborhood. To avoid chaos, each family had to register in advance using their ID number. They will get a message from UNRWA to determine the day and the fine hour they had to collect their parcels. When they arrived at the center, their information will be examined by employees or volunteers to ensure that no person exceeds or received more than they deserve. Each family will receive food expulsion based on its size. This regime gave the Palestinians a sense of arrangement in the midst of very difficult circumstances.

Unfortunately, this situation did not last. On March 2, Israel prevented assistance from entering the tape, and on March 19, it resumed genocide. Once again, people had to face displacement and unbearable circumstances, they thought they would never have to endure it.

On April 25, UNRWA announced that its food supplies had run out. Since then, we have been carrying another severe famine. UNRWA has stopped, along with many humanitarian agencies, their aid operations, leaving more than a million people with hunger and malnutrition.

A month later, the so -called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) was created to take over the distribution of aid as a reaction to Israeli allegations that aid was stolen by Hamas.

Unlike UNRWA, GHF does not provide a regulatory system for distribution. Its aid sites are located in dangerous areas, and the process of delivering them on chaotic parcels. There are no schedules, no registration, no fair distribution. Every day, a limited number of food parcels is thrown into a walled area, and people are allowed to rush and get everything they can. The “regime” is carried out through live fire by Israeli soldiers or foreign mercenaries, who are now killed by more than 2,500 Palestinians asking for help.

Regardless of GHF deadly aid, Israel allowed only a small amount of aid to enter Gaza; Most of them were looted before reaching its intended destination. In late July, it began to allow commercial trucks as well. All the goods they hold go to merchants and are sold at exorbitant prices.

The famine was uncompromising.

Every day, I see children in my neighborhood rushing to get a little food from the gills – a small soup kitchen run by a Palestinian charity. These local organizations usually buy a little food available in local markets with donations from abroad. Simple meals – rice, lentils, pasta, or soup. Families who cannot afford foodstuffs are fully dependent on these meals.

Ironically, in August, many of the same countries called for financing to UNRWA to take immediate action to end the famine in Gaza.

“The famine is revealed before our eyes. Urgent measures are needed to stop hunger and vice versa,” said a statement signed by foreign ministers of ministers abroad, along with Norway, Switzerland, Canada and Japan.

However, by cutting financing to UNRWA and allowing Israel to destroy the agency, these countries deprived more than two million people of their primary food right

If they are serious about ending the genocide and hunger, they must restore their support for the same agency that was created to prevent such suffering and forcing Israel to allow it to regain its services completely.

UNRWA has always been a lifestyle for the people of Gaza. It was the only agency that gave us a sense of stability and hope in the middle of chaos. For us to survive in this genocide and what comes after that, UNRWA must be recovered and protected. Allowing Israel to destroy it will be to allow the Palestinians to survey.

The opinions expressed in this article are the author of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of the editorial island.