{"id":72931,"date":"2025-06-12T17:30:21","date_gmt":"2025-06-12T15:30:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/libmod.de\/gaza-unabhaengige-humanitaere-hilfe-schnell-ermoeglichen-unwra-reformieren\/"},"modified":"2025-06-17T10:59:41","modified_gmt":"2025-06-17T08:59:41","slug":"gaza-enabling-independent-humanitarian-aid-quickly-reforming-unwra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/libmod.de\/en\/gaza-enabling-independent-humanitarian-aid-quickly-reforming-unwra\/","title":{"rendered":"Gaza: Enabling independent human\u00adi\u00adtarian aid quickly, reforming UNRWA"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Foto: Imago<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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What is needed to quickly and indepen\u00addently provide supplies for the people in Gaza? And what should become of UNRWA? Kerstin M\u00fcller, Senior Fellow at the Center for Liberal Modernity, on the current situation in Gaza and the debates of the \u201cMiddle East Network \u2014 Ways out of War, Terror and Occupation\u201d coordi\u00adnated by LibMod.<\/h3>\n

<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s longest war against Hamas in Gaza has lasted more than 600 days since the Hamas terror attack on 7 October, which left around 1200 Israeli civilians dead, numerous wounded and trauma\u00adtized. The terrorist organi\u00adzation is still holding 55 of the 251 hostages kidnapped on 7 October captive, with only 20 of them presumably still alive. The war in Gaza has so far only been inter\u00adrupted by a ceasefire from January 19 to March 2, 2025, which resulted in the release of 33 Israeli hostages and hundreds of Pales\u00adtinian prisoners from Israeli jails. The USA, Qatar and Egypt are currently negoti\u00adating a new ceasefire and hostage agreement. So far, however, without success.<\/p>\n

As a result of the war, the UN speaks of more than 54,000 dead and around 123,000 injured on the Pales\u00adtinian side. More than 770 Israeli soldiers have been killed.<\/p>\n

Acute hunger crisis in Gaza<\/h2>\n

After Hamas did not agree to an extension of the ceasefire on March 1, Israel has blocked the import of food into the Gaza Strip since March 2 and denied inter\u00adna\u00adtional personnel access. The background to this is Hamas\u2019 involvement with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Pales\u00adtinian Refugees (UNRWA) and, according to the Israeli government, the fact that Hamas continues to finance itself by stealing and selling inter\u00adna\u00adtional food aid. While the former has been proven by two UN commis\u00adsions of inquiry, the extent of the latter has not yet been proven.<\/p>\n

One conse\u00adquence of the ongoing war and the weeks-long blockade of food supplies is an acute hunger crisis in Gaza. According to a recent IPC report (Integrated Food Security Classi\u00adfi\u00adcation Report), the entire population of 2.2 million is affected by food insecurity and one in four is at risk of starvation; 9,000 children have already been treated for malnu\u00adtrition and many have already died.<\/p>\n

Chaos in the supply of people by the private foundation GHF<\/h2>\n

Under inter\u00adna\u00adtional and probably also American pressure, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu decided on 19 May to resume the supply of food through a private Israeli-American organi\u00adzation, the Gaza Human\u00adi\u00adtarian Foundation (GHF), but under protest from the national-extremist wing of his government. The GHF initially began distrib\u00aduting food parcels via 3 central distri\u00adb\u00adution centers in the south and then in the center of Gaza. This is a major change in the system, as aid was previ\u00adously distributed decen\u00adtralized to prevent a possible flood of thousands of people. This also means that supplies to people in the north are not guaranteed. According to the GHF, only up to 25 truck\u00adloads per day could be distributed so far, meaning that only a small part of the 2.2 million inhab\u00adi\u00adtants of the Gaza Strip could be supplied. In addition, the food is dry and has to be prepared with water and on cooking stoves, which also requires fuel. Only a few people still have access to both, as the communal kitchens have also all been closed. In the period before the blockade, around 500\u2013600 truck\u00adloads arrived in the Gaza Strip every day. Due to the new central\u00adization of distri\u00adb\u00adution and the great hunger of the people, the centers were completely overrun in the first few days. Chaos reigned and there were deaths and injuries, so that the GHF suspended distri\u00adb\u00adution for a few days at the beginning of June.<\/p>\n

Human\u00adi\u00adtarian aid must be neutral, impartial and independent<\/h2>\n

Apart from this, the concept envisages providing aid to no more than 1.2 million, i.e. only 60% of the people in Gaza. What is to happen to the remaining 1 million or more people remains unclear. In view of the fact that parts of the Netanyahu government openly speak of \u201ctaking, occupying and settling the Gaza Strip with full force\u201d and \u201cnot letting in any human\u00adi\u00adtarian aid\u201d (according to Finance Minister Smotrich), doubts remain as to whether the intended limited supply is not part of a government reset\u00adtlement plan and whether the food blockade is being used as a weapon of war. The way in which human\u00adi\u00adtarian aid is distributed by a private company, supported by the Israeli military, is also sharply criti\u00adcized by UN organi\u00adza\u00adtions because human\u00adi\u00adtarian aid should follow the principles of \u201cneutrality, impar\u00adtiality and indepen\u00addence\u201d. These principles are disre\u00adgarded by the distri\u00adb\u00adution by a private company, which in turn is protected by private security companies that have to work closely with the IDF.<\/p>\n

At the same time, it is clear that the UN organi\u00adzation UNRWA, which was previ\u00adously respon\u00adsible for the care of refugees in Gaza, has lost its credi\u00adbility due to its infil\u00adtration and involvement with Hamas and can no longer be described as \u201cneutral\u201d. UNRWA employees were involved in the crimes of October 7. However, other inter\u00adna\u00adtional organi\u00adza\u00adtions, such as the Red Cross and the World Food Program, also refuse to cooperate with the private company GHF in Gaza.<\/p>\n

A quick and independent solution is needed<\/h2>\n

A quick solution must therefore be found that enables the impartial supply of the necessary food to the people in Gaza. <\/strong>It must be ensured that the aid reaches the people directly and safely and does not end up in the hands of Hamas. Inter\u00adna\u00adtional aid organi\u00adza\u00adtions such as the World Food Program, the Red Cross and OCHA are credible and have decades of experience in providing aid to people in need in crisis and war regions. They are therefore better suited to providing aid to the people in Gaza instead of UNRWA than a private company like the GHF.<\/p>\n

Due to the tense situation in Gaza, the \u201cMiddle East Network \u2014 Israel and Palestine: Ways out of War, Terror and Occupation\u201d,<\/em> coordi\u00adnated by the Center for Liberal Modernity, has focused on perspec\u00adtives for ending the war and the hunger crisis in Gaza as well as current problems of UNRWA. The network consists of Israelis, Pales\u00adtinians and experts from the region.<\/p>\n

Problems with UNRWA<\/h2>\n

From the network\u2019s perspective, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East faces numerous struc\u00adtural problems. These include an unusual defin\u00adition of the refugee status.<\/strong> Unlike the defin\u00adi\u00adtions used by other UN organi\u00adza\u00adtions such as the UNHCR, the Pales\u00adtinian refugee status received by those who fled in 1948 is passed down through gener\u00ada\u00adtions, resulting in 5.9 million regis\u00adtered Pales\u00adtinian refugees today. This hinders the integration of refugees in host countries such as Lebanon, politi\u00adcizes the right of return, and makes a negotiated solution to the Israeli-Pales\u00adtinian conflict more difficult to achieve. In addition to providing human\u00adi\u00adtarian aid to refugees, UNRWA has taken on numerous unrelated tasks, such as providing education and health care, as well as waste disposal and the granting of micro\u00adcredits through its own facil\u00adities, which has led to unnec\u00adessary dupli\u00adcation of struc\u00adtures in the Pales\u00adtinian territories.<\/p>\n

How deeply is UNRWA involved with Hamas?<\/h2>\n

After the terrorist attacks of October 7, 2023, it became clear that UNRWA employees from Gaza were involved in the terrorist attacks as they were also active members of Hamas. Following that, the UN attempted to list struc\u00adtural reforms in the Colonna Report, led by Catherine Colonna, the former French foreign minister. However, the report disre\u00adgards Hamas\u2019 entan\u00adglement with UNRWA. Another internal UN report, the OIOS Report (UN Office of Internal Oversight Services), focused on the involvement of individual members. Conse\u00adquently, only 18 members were dismissed for involvement in the terrorist act on October 7 and ties to Hamas. It remains unclear to this day how deeply Hamas is involved with or entangled with UNRWA employees at various levels of the organi\u00adzation. Never\u00adtheless, numerous countries, resumed payments to UNRWA in October 2024 after these initial reports were presented. This includes Germany, which is UNRWA\u2019s second largest contributor and has been supporting UNRWA for decades.<\/p>\n

The rapid resumption of donations to UNRWA immedi\u00adately after the UN reports were presented was primarily due to the still extremely difficult human\u00adi\u00adtarian situation in Gaza. Never\u00adtheless, the Middle East Network considers this to be a missed oppor\u00adtunity and is calling on the new German government<\/strong> to go ahead with the necessary clari\u00adfi\u00adcation and implement struc\u00adtural reforms. The agree\u00adments reached in the coalition agreement should be implemented.<\/p>\n

The members of the network are convinced, that there must be a compre\u00adhensive inves\u00adti\u00adgation into UNRWA and its involvement with Hamas. Urgently needed reforms must be addressed. <\/strong>This requires that the current UNRWA leadership, i.e., Lazzarini and his team, who have failed to prevent the increasing infil\u00adtration of UNRWA by Hamas for years, to step down and clear the way for real renewal. A compre\u00adhensive inves\u00adti\u00adgation into UNRWA\u2019s involvement with Hamas and necessary reforms resulting from there can only be credibly met by a new team.<\/p>\n

Make payments to UNRWA dependent on reforms<\/h2>\n

To this end, the new German government should, as announced in the coalition agreement, suspend payments to UNRWA in full or at least in part until the team has been replaced and the path towards a compre\u00adhensive inves\u00adti\u00adgation has been cleared. <\/strong>However, it should be ensured that this does not interrupt the provision of human\u00adi\u00adtarian aid to the people of Gaza. <\/strong>The Israeli government should lift the ongoing food blockade and look for a solution that allows inter\u00adna\u00adtional organi\u00adza\u00adtions to distribute human\u00adi\u00adtarian aid to the population in Gaza.<\/p>\n

Specif\u00adi\u00adcally, the following short\u2011, medium\u2011, and long-term measures for reforming UNRWA <\/strong>are proposed:<\/p>\n

\u25a0 In the short term<\/strong>: In Gaza, however, a post war recon\u00adstruction process could lay the foundation for trans\u00adferring UNRWA\u2019s tasks to other organi\u00adza\u00adtions. Some human\u00adi\u00adtarian aid is already being provided by other organi\u00adza\u00adtions, such as the World Food Program.
\nIn contrary it is unreal\u00adistic, especially in the West Bank, to replace quickly large parts of the quasi-govern\u00admental services provided by UNRWA through other organi\u00adza\u00adtions. For example, the World Food Program has no experience with education or health. UNRWA must therefore undergo a funda\u00admental reform process in which the strategic use of financial resources and inter\u00adna\u00adtional oversight play a central role. This cooper\u00adation should be expanded to ensure that the population receives human\u00adi\u00adtarian aid.<\/p>\n

\u25a0 In the medium term<\/strong>, struc\u00adtural and organi\u00adza\u00adtional reforms should enable other inter\u00adna\u00adtional organi\u00adza\u00adtions to take over some of the services currently provided by UNRWA in the West Bank. This mainly applies to the extra tasks which UNRWA has taken on, such as schooling and important roles in the healthcare and social systems, as well as extra\u00adneous tasks such as waste disposal and micro\u00adcredit allocation (UNRWA maintains 706 schools and 140 medical facil\u00adities.) This will require consid\u00aderable investment.<\/p>\n

\u25a0 In the long term<\/strong>, UNRWA services in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank should be trans\u00adferred to the Pales\u00adtinian Authority (PA). In Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan, the respective central govern\u00adments should take over these tasks. A political solution to the conflict, such as a two-state settlement, will resolve the refugee issue in general. This will also render the role of UNRWA obsolete in the long term, and it will have to be taken over by other inter\u00adna\u00adtional or local organizations.<\/p>\n

*  The article summa\u00adrizes discus\u00adsions on ways out of the dramatic human\u00adi\u00adtarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, which were held among Israelis, Pales\u00adtinians, and experts from other countries. (\u201cNetwork Middle East \u2013 Options for a Political Solution to the Israeli-Pales\u00adtinian Conflict\u201d) The project is coordi\u00adnated by LibMod and led by Kerstin M\u00fcller, former Minister of State at the German Foreign Office. The figures quoted by UN agencies on the number of deaths in the Gaza Strip are based mainly on infor\u00admation provided by the Hamas-controlled \u201cMinistry of Health.\u201d They do not differ\u00aden\u00adtiate between Hamas fighters killed and civilian casualties. The infor\u00admation provided by the Israeli-American aid organi\u00adzation GHF on the food parcels distributed cannot be verified either. All this under\u00adscores the need to place human\u00adi\u00adtarian aid to the population in Gaza in independent inter\u00adna\u00adtional hands as quickly as possible and to find a political way out of this war. (Ed.)<\/em>[\/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_column_text]Hat Ihnen unser Beitrag gefallen? Dann spenden Sie doch einfach und bequem \u00fcber unser Spendentool. Sie unter\u00adst\u00fctzen damit die publizis\u00adtische Arbeit von LibMod.<\/p>\n

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