UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said during a press conference that he is not concerned about the local staff the agency employs, regardless of Israeli claims that some of them are connected with the Palestinian movement Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Johad.
"I have never received the slightest concern about the staff that we are employing," Lazzarini said on Monday.
Lazzarini was responding to Israeli claims that 450 UNRWA employees out of a total of 13,000 are active members of Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
Lazzarini said the only allegations he's received are related to Israel's accusations in January claiming that 12% of alleged UNRWA staffers participated in the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.
The United States, Canada, Australia, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Finland, Estonia, Japan, Austria, Romania and the United Kingdom suspended their donations to UNRWA following Israel's accusations that some of the agency's staff participated in the Hamas attacks on the Jewish state on October 7.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Says 50% Decline in Gaza Aid Following ICJ Ruling
Furthermore, Lazzarini said during a press briefing that aid to Gaza has halved since January, despite the International Court of Justice's orders.
"Since that time, what have we seen is assistance has halved, has not increased... If I compare the flow of aid going into Gaza, between January and February, it has decreased by 50%," Lazzarini said on Monday.
In January, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled on provisional measures in South Africa's case against Israel over alleged genocide in the Gaza Strip. The court ordered Israel to take urgent measures to prevent acts of genocide and ensure the flow of humanitarian aid to the enclave. At the same time, the ICJ did not order an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed during Israel's military operations in Gaza since October 7 and more than 76,000 wounded, according to the local authorities. In addition, some 1.9 million Palestinians out of 2.3 million in Gaza have been displaced, and it is estimated that a significant percentage of them are facing hunger and starvation.