MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Israel's parliament has voted to ban the U.N.'s main aid agency for Palestinians from operating in Israel. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency is the main group providing food and shelter to Palestinians who are facing hunger and displacement in the war in Gaza. Israel says it has ties to Hamas, the militant group that Israel is battling in Gaza. NPR's Daniel Estrin is in Tel Aviv, and he's with us now to tell us more about this. Good morning, Daniel.
DANIEL ESTRIN, BYLINE: Good morning, Michel.
MARTIN: Just remind us - what exactly does this U.N. agency do?
ESTRIN: The agency is known by its acronym, UNRWA - U-N-R-W-A. It provides food, health care and education to millions of Palestinian refugees. And in Gaza, UNRWA is the main address for aid. It has been that way for decades and especially now during the Gaza war. NPR's producer in Gaza, Anas Baba, visited an UNRWA medical clinic this morning. He said he saw hundreds of people in line needing care. And one man in line told him, without UNRWA's services, our life would be worthless. UNRWA also distributes flour to families, and Anas Baba met one man coming to an UNRWA warehouse for flour. His name is Mahmoud Shafi.
MAHMOUD SHAFI: (Non-English language spoken).
ESTRIN: He said, "this Israeli ban on UNRWA is an additional war along with the Gaza war." And he said, "Israel's aim is no longer targeting Hamas." He said, "it's killing children, women and men." He said, "they are facing a genocide." And just this morning, Michel, Gaza health officials are reporting one of the single deadliest Israeli strikes in weeks. They're saying scores of people, mostly women and children, were killed when Israel struck a five-story building.
MARTIN: So why is Israel banning UNRWA now?
ESTRIN: Well, Israel says that some Palestinian staffers of UNRWA took part in the October 7 attack. UNRWA fired and suspended them, or others were killed in the war. Israel has also said that during the war, it has found a Hamas command center directly underneath UNRWA's Gaza headquarters - those and a lot of other grievances throughout the years. This is Israel's ambassador to the United Nations speaking to reporters. His name is Danny Danon.
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DANNY DANON: UNRWA was infiltrated by Hamas many years ago. We have warned the Security Council. That is why today we are taking action that will limit UNRWA capabilities to continue to function in Israel.
ESTRIN: Now, Israel says it wants to continue to work with other U.N. agencies instead of UNRWA. And that really points to Israel's biggest problem with this agency - it serves the families of Palestinian refugees who were uprooted from their homes when Israel's founding war took place 76 years ago. And Israel says this agency just perpetuates Palestinians' demand for the right to return to their lands, which became Israel. But I should mention that this ban on UNRWA in the Israeli parliament won a vast majority of lawmakers, including most of the centrist opposition.
MARTIN: So how are the U.N. and the U.S. responding to Israel's ban?
ESTRIN: The U.N. says this can have devastating consequences for refugees, and the State Department is saying that UNRWA plays an irreplaceable role in Gaza, and it's calling on Israel not to move forward with implementing this legislation. The U.S. actually warned Israel in a letter that if it does move forward with this legislation, it could have implications under U.S. law. The U.S. is basically suggesting that it could withhold some weapons and military aid to Israel. We're going to have to see what happens with the U.S. elections. Who is elected president could determine whether Israel moves forward.
MARTIN: That is NPR's Daniel Estrin in Tel Aviv. Daniel, thank you.
ESTRIN: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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