HAMILTON, Canada

The head of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said Tuesday that Israel's impending ban on the UN agency "will undermine" the ceasefire deal in the Gaza Strip.

"UNRWA is the largest UN presence in Gaza, with 13,000 personnel and 300 premises. The agency is critical for supporting a shattered population and the ceasefire," Philippe Lazzarini said during a Security Council session on Palestine.

Noting that ending UNRWA's aid operations across the occupied Palestinian territories would put the fate of millions at stake, Lazzarini warned that it would also risk "the ceasefire and the prospects for a political solution that brings lasting peace and security."

"Curtailing our operations now – outside a political process, and when trust in the international community is so low – will undermine the ceasefire," he said, and emphasized that "it will sabotage Gaza’s recovery and political transition."

Lazzarini described full implementation of a UNRWA ban as "disastrous" for Gaza, and warned that "it will degrade the capacity of the United Nations, just when humanitarian assistance must be scaled up significantly.”

"This will only worsen the already catastrophic living conditions of millions of Palestinians," he added.

Lazzarini also dismissed Israel's claims of transferring UNRWA's services to other entities, and described the aid agency's mandate as "unique."

Stressing that the current aid delivery to Gaza is being done by UNRWA, he said: "Palestinians know and trust UNRWA."

The Israeli legislation to band the agency “makes a mockery of international law and imposes massive constraints on UNRWA's operation. We are determined, however, to stay and deliver until it is no longer possible to do so," he affirmed.

Norwegian Refugee Council’s Secretary-General Jan Egeland noted that "rubble removal in northern Gaza could take as long as 21 years" and cost "at least $1.2 billion for two decades."

"For two decades, children will have nowhere to play due to the rubble and the debris and the countless unexploded bombs," he said.

Saying that humanitarians on the ground are increasing their aid assistance for those severely affected by Israel's relentless bombing, Egeland noted the needs as full and unrestricted access, security and protection, coordination and oversight, as well as financial and operational support.

"Given the fragile nature of the Gaza ceasefire and the potential for more violence in the West Bank, the Security Council, in accordance with your mandate, should put all of your energies into achieving a peaceful resolution to the question of Palestine, in line with international law, the UN General Assembly," he said.