Starmer condemns ‘gravely concerning’ UNRWA ban as Israel faces international backlash

The Prime Minister fears jeopardising the UN’s aid agency will cause children to starve

Sir Keir Starmer has said he is “gravely concerned” over Israel’s decision to ban the main Palestinian aid agency from the country amid an international outcry over the move.
The Prime Minister joined the backlash from Israel’s closest Western allies after the country’s parliament voted for two bills to prevent the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) from working within its territory.
His fears of Israel “jeopardising” aid to Gaza came after the United States warned of a looming humanitarian “catastrophe” and said that children could starve to death.
The UNRWA was created in 1949 to help displaced Palestinians following the war between Arab nations and the newly established state of Israel.
The agency now receives a budget of more than £1.12 billion from the UN to provide humanitarian aid including food, medicine and education supporting 5.9 million Palestinians.
However Israel has claimed that up to 10 per cent of its staff have links to terror groups and that some of its workers participated in the Oct 7 massacre.
A UN investigation found that nine employees from the agency “may have” been involved in the murder of 1,200 Israelis and kidnapping of hundreds more.
Israel’s Knesset overwhelmingly voted for two bills on Monday, the first banning the agency from operating in Israeli territory and effectively shuttering its offices in East Jerusalem.
The second will severely curtail the agency’s activities in Gaza and the West Bank by banning Israel’s state authorities from having any contact with the agency.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, who has a long-running feud with the agency he says has links to Hamas, has insisted humanitarian aid would reach Palestinians.
He has vowed to “stand ready” to help but added UNRWA personnel “involved in terrorist activities against Israel must be held accountable”.
Israel’s foreign ministry said members with links to terror were not just a “few rotten apples” but “a rotten tree entirely infected with terrorist operatives”.
There are 90 days before the laws will be implemented but Britain joined the US in condemning the move.
“The UNRWA bills passed by Israel’s Knesset are gravely concerning,” Sir Keir said. “This risks jeopardising the international humanitarian response in Gaza. We need to see an immediate ceasefire and the release of hostages. Israel must ensure sufficient aid reaches civilians in Gaza.”
Anneliese Dodds, the Development Minister, also hinted that Britain could suspend more arms sales to Israel if the ban goes ahead, describing the bills as “unacceptable”.
The US has urged Israel to reconsider with Matthew Miller, spokesman for the state department, saying that in the current crisis the agency was “irreplaceable”.
“There’s nobody that can replace them right now in the middle of the crisis,” he said.
The department added in a statement the legislation “risks catastrophe for the more than three million Palestinians who rely on UNRWA for essential services, including healthcare, and primary and secondary education”.
It urged Israel to “pause and further consider implementation of this legislation to ensure UNRWA can effectively carry out its mission and facilitate humanitarian assistance”.
More than a dozen other European governments including Germany and France have condemned the decision while Unicef said the move would kill children.
James Elder, spokesperson for the UN’s children’s emergency fund, said banning the UNRWA could see the humanitarian response in Gaza collapse.
“If UNRWA is unable to operate, it’ll likely see the collapse of the humanitarian system in Gaza,” he said. “So a decision such as this suddenly means that a new way has been found to kill children.”
The move comes amid growing concern over conditions in Gaza, where two million residents are effectively dependent on the services from the agency.
Aid to Gaza has fallen to its lowest level since the war began with the UN stating that only 704 truckloads had entered the Strip so far this month, compared to 3,000 truckloads in September.
In the war-torn enclave displaced refugees described the agency as “our only saviour” and said they would starve to death without its support.
“These children need at least bread to eat,” Rawan Sawaf, 34, a mother of five who has been displaced from Rafah, told The Telegraph on Monday. “There is nothing to feed them. We live on UNRWA aid. If its work stops, who will provide us with services?”
Saeed Al-Helou, 55, from Gaza City, said his family received food and medicine through the agency, and said he would be unable to feed his children.
“Their stopping work means a real disaster for us. We cannot buy food supplies such as canned food, lentils, rice, and others, not even flour. We have lived through the worst experiences during this war. Should we beg to feed our children?”
Rawan Al-Louh, 40, a mother of six from Rafah, said all her family had was two bags of flour and needed the agency to survive.
“We live on their help,” she said. “The situation is very difficult and tragic. We are suffering to obtain water, medicine, food, and other things. The conditions are difficult and our days pass with difficulty.
“Without UNRWA, people will die of disease and hunger.”