Israel has not yet requested the evacuation of Rafah

AA / Istanbul / Yakut Dandashi

The Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, confirmed that Israel has not yet requested the evacuation of civilians from Rafah, thereby denying the claims of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to which the process of evacuating the city’s residents has already begun. started.

He added on Tuesday during a press conference broadcast by Arab and international media and via YouTube: “There is great concern in Gaza about an Israeli (military) attack on Rafah if an agreement is not reached this week.

Contrary to what Netanyahu claimed earlier in the day, Lazzarini confirmed that “so far people have not been asked to evacuate Rafah”.

Earlier in the day, Israeli television Channel 13 reported, referring to the Forum of Families of Israeli Prisoners in Gaza, that Netanyahu said today that the evacuation of Rafah residents has already begun as part of preparations for the military operation that will take place soon, and that “everyone the ministers in the government supported this approach”.

Lazzarini addressed the humanitarian situation, stating that “humanitarian aid entering Gaza is still insufficient, despite its increase during the month of April”, he mentioned “the difficulties faced by aid convoys in the Gaza Strip”, referring to the obstacles and strict restrictions imposed by the Israelis.

Regarding the development of the agency’s financial situation, he said: “We have new donors and countries that will contribute to support UNRWA for the first time and we are waiting for countries that have suspended their support to make a decision to return it.”

Lazzarini emphasized that “most donor countries have continued to fund the agency, but a small number of countries have not yet decided to do so.”

He continued: “We are able to continue until next June, following the announcement of new contributions to UNRWA, and we hope to be able to continue our operations until next August.”

He emphasized that “strong pressure is being exerted on UNRWA and work is being done to disband it, not to mention that our employees are being killed and our facilities are being destroyed in the Gaza Strip.”

He cited the results of an independent investigation led by French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, which concluded that Israel had not provided evidence to support its claims that office officials were involved in the attack on Hamas.

Several countries have recently decided to restore funding to UNRWA, most even before the publication of the Colonna report, including France, Canada, Australia, Sweden, Norway, Spain and Japan.

This comes as the Israeli military continues its devastating war against Gaza since October 7, which has left tens of thousands dead and injured, mostly children and women, according to Palestinian sources, and has led Tel Aviv to stand trial at the International Court of Justice for “the crime of genocide “.

*Translated from Arabic by Mourad Belhaj

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