The Palestinian group Hamas denounced Israel's decision to ban the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) from operating in the country, saying the move aims to "starve the Palestinian people."
At a press conference held Monday evening in Nouakchott, Mauritania, senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan said the decision was a "challenge to the international community" and a blatant attempt to block critical services for Palestinians.
"The purpose of stopping the activities of this agency is to starve the Palestinian people and cut off various services, including health services," Hamdan said.
UNRWA provides humanitarian, health and educational services to Palestinian refugees in five regions: the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Gaza, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.
Hamdan said "the decision to halt UNRWA is a test for the international community to see if it can stand against the decisions taken by the Israeli occupation with U.S. support."
Earlier, the Israeli Knesset passed a law banning UNRWA from operating in the country, which could affect its work in Gaza.
"The Knesset plenum approved Monday evening in its second and third readings a law to cut official ties with and halt the activity of UNRWA, some of whose operators are suspected of participating in the massacres (by the Palestinian group Hamas) on Oct. 7 (last year)," said a report by Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth daily.
The vote saw 92 out of 120 Knesset members in favor of the ban, with 10 opposed.
A separate bill from Knesset members Ron Katz, Yulia Malinovsky and Dan Illouz, which was approved by lawmakers in a 87-9 vote, mandates that Israel cut all ties with UNRWA, barring any cooperation or privileges the agency previously held.
The legislation will take effect in 90 days.
Israel has accused UNRWA employees of complicity in the Oct. 7, 2023 cross-border incursion by Hamas, alleging that the agency's educational programs "promote terrorism and hatred."
UNRWA, headquartered in East Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, denies the accusations and asserts that it remains neutral, solely focusing on supporting refugees.
The agency was established by a UN General Assembly resolution in 1949, with a mandate to provide assistance and protection to Palestinian refugees.
The Israeli army has continued a devastating offensive on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border incursion by Hamas last October, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.
Over 43,000 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and more than 101,100 others injured, according to local health authorities.
The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the territory amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.
