Despite ICJ ruling, Rubio says Unrwa cannot be involved in Gaza's future

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday that the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) can have no future in the running of Gaza.

Speaking to reporters at the headquarters of the US Civil-Military Coordination Center, which is overseeing the Gaza ceasefire, Rubio repeated the widely discredited Israeli claims that the organisation is a "subsidiary of Hamas".

“Unrwa is not going to play any role in [providing aid]," he said.

His comments come just days after the International Court of Justice ruled that the Israeli claim that Unrwa was "substantially" comprised of Hamas supporters was without foundation.

In its advisory opinion, the UN's top court on Wednesday found that Unrwa is impartial and indispensable for the provision of relief to Palestinians, as mandated by the UN General Assembly.

Rubio praised the UN in general as an organisation and said the US was willing to work with it in Gaza.

“We’re seeing the work they’re doing, the World Food Programme. There’s also nonprofit NGOs, humanitarian assistance organisations that are involved in this, Samaritan’s Purse. It’s a conglomeration of about 8-12 groups that are here,” he said.

“We’re willing to work with them if they can make it work. But not Unrwa. Unrwa became a subsidiary of Hamas."

US President Donald Trump’s 20-point ceasefire plan for Gaza envisions an Arab and Muslim international force deploying to the enclave.

ICJ rules Israel must cooperate with Unrwa and lift Gaza aid blockade

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US officials have said they are in discussions with Egypt, the UAE, Qatar, Jordan, Indonesia, and Azerbaijan about contributing to the force.

During his speech to the General Assembly, Trump mocked the UN, saying it used "empty words" that “don’t solve war”. When an escalator that was carrying Trump to the General Assembly hall stopped working, the US president accused the body of “sabotage” and his administration threatened to investigate the mechanical failure.

Earlier this year, the Trump administration slapped sanctions on Francesca Albanese, the UN’s special rapporteur on Israel and Palestine. Rubio accused her of “open contempt” for the US, Israel and the West.

The Trump administration also suspended funding to Unrwa and withdrew from the UN Human Rights Council.

In Gaza, the US worked with Israel to push for the widely discredited Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) to take over aid distribution in Gaza. US mercenaries manning GHF aid sites have been accused of attacking starving Palestinians, and the UN accuses it of overseeing more than 2,100 killings of Palestinians.

Trump was forced to backtrack on the GHF in his ceasefire plan for Gaza, which explicitly recognises the UN and its agencies to distribute aid in Gaza.