Image source, Unrwa

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (Unrwa) was established in 1949 to carry out direct relief and social services for Jewish and Palestinian refugees following the 1948 conflict which led to the founding of Israel and expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.

The UN General Assembly most recently extended its mandate until 30 June 2026.

Here's a brief look at what it does.

• Approximately 5.9 million Palestinian refugees, a third of whom live in refugee camps in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem as well as in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, are eligible for Unrwa services
• The agency serves around 1.7 million Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip and 870,000 in in the West Bank and East Jerusalem
• The agency provides a wide range of aid and services including healthcare, shelter, food and education
• It is also an important source of employment for Palestinian refugees, who make up most of its more than 30,000 employees in the region
• It has been described by the United States as "irreplaceable" in enabling the delivery of aid to displaced Palestinians

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) says Unrwa's work in Gaza is essential and irreplaceable.

"Unrwa is absolutely essential to the people of Gaza, and I don't want to leave anyone with the misimpression that IOM can play that role, because we cannot," Amy Pope, the head of the IOM told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday. She stressed there was "no way" it could replace Unrwa.

But, she says, the IOM "can provide support to those people who are currently in crisis", saying that her agency was keen to step up their role in the region.

As a reminder, Unrwa has been providing aid to Palestinian refugees since 1949 and is the biggest organisation working on the ground in Gaza.

Fergal Keane
Special correspondent, BBC News

A senior ally of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told the BBC the government in Jerusalem will not back down on the decision to expel the main UN agency dealing with Palestinian refugees.

Boaz Bismuth was a sponsor of the bill in the Israeli parliament which bans Unrwa from operating in Israeli territory and forbids Israeli officials from having any contact with the agency.

When I asked Bismuth if Israel would accede to international pressure to withdraw the bill he replied: "Of course not, of course not, because we believe in our bill and because it's a just and right bill."

The US, the EU and the British government have condemned the move. A spokesman for the US State Department, Matthew Miller, said Unrwa plays "an irreplaceable role right now in Gaza, where they are on the front lines getting humanitarian assistance to the people that need it.

"There's nobody that can replace them right now in the middle of the crisis."

Unrwa said the laws – to come into effect within three months – will cause the supply chain of aid to Gaza to "fall apart".

Israel has accused Unrwa of being infiltrated by Hamas and some of its members of taking part in the 7 October attacks on Israel.

Bismuth said Israel would upgrade services for Palestinian refugees once Unrwa had been removed.

"You don't need terrorism to control Gaza," he said. "You don't need terrorism also to control humanitarian aid. It's about time, if you really want stability, if you really want security, if you want really peace in the Middle East. First of all, let's get rid of the evil ones."

Image source, EPA

Israel has been accused of blocking aid deliveries from entering Gaza in the past few weeks.

As we have reported, the recent vote in the Knesset banning Unrwa has been met with deep concern by Israel's allies, and UK Minister Sir Keir Starmer says the move risks "jeopardising the entire international humanitarian response in Gaza".

Earlier in October, the United States warned Israel to urgently boost aid into the enclave or face restrictions on military aid. Israel subsequently allowed more aid into Gaza, but a but a top UN humanitarian official described it as a “trickle”.

Top UN officials have also accused Israel of blocking aid, including Unrwa chief Philippe Lazzarini, who said on X, external last week that "Israeli Authorities continue to deny humanitarian missions to reach the north (of Gaza)".

Israel denies obstructing humanitarian aid deliveries, and has often blamed aid agencies for failing to properly distribute aid in the enclave.

Cogat, the Israeli military body responsible for managing the crossings into Gaza, says on X that, external 100 humanitarian aid trucks entered the Palestinian territory yesterday.

BBC Arabic's Gaza Lifeline has spoken to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip about the move to ban Unrwa.

Om Yousef

"The decision to stop the Unrwa from working in Gaza is wrong because we are treated through them and our children are educated in their schools.

"Education is the most important thing. I hope that this decision is not to be implemented because it is wrong."

Om Sohay

"It is a wrong decision. Because of this, they will cut us off from flour and oil.

"This is very hard. How will we survive without flour, the only thing that's available in this country is flour and the price for one bag is 200 shekels ($54) and we can't afford it, and one bottle of oil costs 35 shekels ($9).

"What's happening is bad. We have nothing in this country but the flour from Unrwa. We hope that this decision is stopped and cancelled it because this is very difficult."

Mohamed

"I’m Mohamed, displaced in Khan Younis. They said that they will stop Unrwa and stop the agency that brings flour, oil and sugar and essentials.

"If it stops, we won't find flour and they will also stop educating children.

"The most important thing in the world is flour, we eat it, and sugar and oil. We are hoping that this decision gets cancelled."

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says around 50 rockets, external crossed from Lebanon to Israel, following alerts between 10:37 and 10:39 local time in the Upper Galilee and Western Galilee.

The IDF says some were intercepted, and that crashes were detected.

Image source, Reuters

We reported earlier on an Israeli airstrike on a residential building in the town on Beit Lahia, in northern Gaza.

An official at Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry has now said that at least 60 people have been killed, and a further 17 people are thought to be under the rubble.

Videos on social media show bodies covered in blankets on the ground.

The director of the nearby Kamal Adwan hospital in Jabalia, Hussam Abu Safia, told the AFP news agency that children were being treated at their facilities.

There has been no immediate comment on the strike from Israel's military, which began a new offensive in the area earlier this month after saying Hamas was regrouping there.

Unrwa director William Deere says the organisation is "not sure there is a plan B right now" following Israel's vote to ban it.

"We are the backbone of the humanitarian response," he tells the BBC News channel.

Image source, Getty Images

A local journalist in Gaza says most of the displaced refugees in the territory are "depending" on the UN's Palestinian refugee agency, Unrwa.

Ghada Oudah tells the BBC World Service's Newsday programme that "most of the humanitarian aid" in Gaza is provided by Unrwa, adding that Israel's ban on its operations will "destroy" their humanitarian operations.

There are "no more trucks coming to north Gaza", she says, and that people "really are suffering from the lack of food and water".

Cogat, the Israeli military body responsible for managing crossings into Gaza, says in a post on X, external that 51 trucks entered northern Gaza yesterday.

Ban is culmination of growing Israeli hostility towards Unrwapublished at 09:53 Greenwich Mean Time 29 October

09:53 GMT 29 October

Sebastian Usher
BBC Middle East analyst, reporting from Jerusalem

The vote to ban Unrwa is the culmination of growing hostility in the Israeli government and among many Israeli politicians against not just the agency, but the UN itself.

They see both as deeply biased against Israel, with some accusing Unrwa of complicity with Hamas. Israel alleged that some of its employees were involved in the 7 October attacks. The UN held an investigation and fired nine staff members in August.

An Israeli lawmaker who supported the bill - Sharren Haskel - told parliament that Israel couldn't let Unrwa continue to operate: "Israel has an absolute right to act against Unrwa, after the failure of the international community."

Many countries have expressed deep concern about the ban - expected to have a severe effect on Unrwa's already greatly reduced ability to provide essential services in Gaza.

Unrwa is seen as a lifeline in Gaza as the humanitarian situation there continues to become more desperate.

In a voice note sent to the BBC, the agency's communications director, Juliette Touma, expressed outrage at the ban: "The vote by the Israeli Parliament or Knesset against Unrwa this evening is unprecedented and sets a dangerous precedent."

Yolande Knell
Middle East correspondent, in Jerusalem

Footage from the scene in Beit Lahia shows bodies wrapped in blankets alongside the rubble of the multi-storey, residential building; others remain buried.

Rescuers say that locals and displaced people were killed including many women and children.

Israel has recently intensified its military operations in northern Gaza – where it says it’s acting against regrouping Hamas fighters.

There are appeals for doctors to go to the local hospital which was raided by Israeli forces at the end of last week; the director said he’d been left with just one other medic to help him treat patients and those newly wounded.

Image source, Getty Images

If you're just joining us, or could use a refresher this morning, here's a quick summary:

• Last night, Israel's parliament voted to pass laws banning the UN's Palestinian refugee agency (Unrwa) from operating within Israel
• The legislation also severely curtails its ability to work in the occupied West Bank and Gaza
• Israel has objected to Unrwa for decades, but hostility hit a boiling point after the 7 October attacks, in which Israel claims some of the agency's staff were involved.
• The ban is set to come into effect within three months
• Several allies, including the US, UK, Germany and the UN secretary general have expressed serious concern over the move
• Unrwa head Philippe Lazzarini condemned Israel's ban as "unprecedented", saying that it "opposes the UN Charter and violates the state of Israel’s obligations under international law"

Hugo Bachega
Middle East correspondent, in Beirut

Image source, Reuters

We're now briefly turning our attention back to Lebanon where Hezbollah has announced that Naim Qassem, the group’s deputy secretary general, will become its new head. He replaces long-term leader Hassan Nasrallah, killed in an Israeli air strike in Beirut last month.

Qassem is one of the few senior Hezbollah leaders who remains alive, after Israel killed most of the group’s leadership in a series of attacks in recent weeks.

Gaza’s Hamas-run Civil Defence agency says at least 55 people have been killed in an Israeli airstrike on a residential building in the town of Beit Lahia, in northern Gaza, with many still trapped under the rubble.

Several of those killed in the strike were women and children, Palestinian news agency Wafa reports, citing medical sources.

The five-storey building housed approximately 150 displaced people, according to Wafa.

Israel has not yet commented on the strike.

Israeli parliamentarian Yulia Malinovsky, who promoted the bill to ban Unrwa, has responded to the UN.

She shared what looks like a screenshot of CCTV footage from 7 October 2023, showing two men carrying a body.

"These are your colleagues from Unrwa who abducted the body of Yonatan Samerano on October 7th," she says in a post on X, external, adding: "Yesterday, we brought a small measure of justice to Yonatan’s parents."

The BBC has not verified this image or these claims.

Israel previously claimed 19 Unrwa workers took part in the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023. The UN investigated Israel’s claim and fired nine of those accused, but it said Israel had not provided evidence for broader allegations.

Malinovsky goes on to say: "The story of Unrwa here in the state of Israel is over."

Hugo Bachega
Middle East correspondent, in Beirut

Last night, the Israeli military carried out intense airstrikes in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley, an area where Hezbollah has a strong presence. The attacks happened with no warning, and the Israeli military has yet to comment on what was targeting.

The Lebanese health ministry said at least 60 people were killed, including two children, and more than 50 wounded. Images posted online showed extensive destruction in some areas, and fires sparked by the attacks.

In the town of Boudai, residents pleaded on social media for heavy equipment to be sent to help rescue people believed to be trapped. This morning, in the town of Chmistar, emergency teams continued to search the rubble for five people were still missing.

Bachir Khodr, the governor of Baalbek, called the strikes "the most violent" in his region since Israel escalated its conflict with Hezbollah, last month.

The Bekaa Valley has been repeatedly hit by the Israeli military in this war. The area is a strategic route to Hezbollah’s allies in Syria and Iraq, and Iran, its main supporter.

Israel has objected to the UN's Palestinian refugee agency (Unrwa) for decades and this has intensified in recent years.

It claims the agency's staff have colluded with Hamas in Gaza and that 19 of its workers participated in the Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023.

The UN investigated 19 members of Unrwa staff earlier this year and found that nine employees may have had links to the attacks - all of whom would be sacked, said UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq in August.

Aside from those nine people, the UN's report found no evidence of involvement in one case and insufficient evidence in the case of nine others.

Image source, Reuters

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (Unrwa) has been giving aid to Palestinian refugees since 1949 and for decades has offered a range of services, including providing healthcare and education to millions in Gaza.

Since the war in Gaza broke out last year, its presence on the ground has made it a crucial part of efforts to get humanitarian supplies to civilians.

Co-operation with the Israeli military - which controls all crossings into Gaza - is essential for the agency to get aid into Gaza. and it is the main UN organisation operating on the ground there.

About two-and-half million Palestinians are registered with Unrwa in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.

Israel has claimed Unrwa's staff have colluded with Hamas in Gaza and that some the agency's workers participated in the Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023.

The UN investigated Israel’s claim and fired nine of those accused, but it said Israel had not provided evidence for broader allegations.

Image source, Getty Images

Unrwa Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini condemned Israel's ban on the organisation as "unprecedented" and said it "opposes the UN Charter and violates the state of Israel’s obligations under international law".

He said people in Gaza had already endured "sheer hell", adding: "It ⁠will deprive over 650,000 girls and boys there from education, putting at risk an entire generation of children."

Unrwa is the main organisation working on the ground in Gaza. Israel has objected to it for decades, although its opposition has intensified in recent years.

Lazzarini claimed the latest decision was part of an "ongoing campaign" to discredit the organisation and "delegitimise its role towards providing human-development assistance and services" to Palestinian refugees, describing it as a "collective punishment".

Yolande Knell
Middle East correspondent, in Jerusalem

Despite widespread international opposition, Israeli MPs voted overwhelmingly to approve two bills.

These essentially bar Unrwa from operating in Israel and annexed East Jerusalem and severely curtail its ability to work in the occupied West Bank and Gaza - where it’s the largest UN agency, playing a vital role in distributing aid and running wartime shelters.

Unrwa spokeswoman, Juliette Touma, says the legislation breaches the UN charter and Israel’s obligations under international law:

Israeli officials accuse Unrwa of being complicit with Hamas and cite the involvement of a handful of its thousands of staff in the 7 October attacks.

The agency insists it’s impartial. Israel has long objected to Unrwa, arguing that its existence perpetuates the status of millions of Palestinians as refugees; their fate remains a core issue in the decades-old Israel Palestinian conflict.