Unrwa chief welcomes ICJ ruling calling for aid to enter Gaza

The head of the United Nations Agency for Palestinians (Unrwa) welcomed a ruling by the International Court of Justice on Wednesday that said Israel must facilitate the UN agency's distribution of aid in Gaza. 

"I welcome the unambiguous ruling by the International Court of Justice today stating that - Israel is under an obligation to agree to & facilitate relief schemes provided by the United Nations & its entities, in particular Unrwa," the agency's chief, Philippe Lazzarini, said on X. 

"⁠Israel’s claim that Unrwa is infiltrated by Hamas was not substantiated, nor were allegations that Unrwa is not a neutral organisation," he said. 

“With huge amounts of food & other life saving supplies on standby in Egypt & Jordan, Unrwa has the resources and expertise to immediately scale up the humanitarian response in Gaza & help alleviate the suffering of the civilian population," he added.