Israel faced an international backlash on Tuesday after its parliament approved a bill banning the United Nations’ main aid agency for the devastated Gaza Strip.

Despite global concerns, including from Israel’s ally the United States, lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to ban the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) from working in Israel and annexed East Jerusalem.

UNRWA has been operating in the Palestinian territories for over seventy years and is the largest provider of aid in Gaza.

Israel controls all humanitarian aid shipments to Gaza, where its forces have been fighting the Palestinian militant group Hamas for more than a year. It is unclear how the agency will continue to operate there, and aid groups have warned that UNRWA will not be replaced immediately by an alternative.

Lawmakers also passed a measure banning Israeli officials from working with UNRWA and its employees.

Israel says UNRWA has been infiltrated by Hamas and that the militant group is withdrawing aid and using UN facilities to protect its activities; The UN agency denies these allegations.

“There is a deep connection between the terrorist organization (Hamas) and UNRWA, and Israel cannot stand this,” MP Yuli Edelstein said while presenting the proposal in parliament.

While some of Israel’s Western allies expressed their discomfort with the ban, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain was “gravely concerned”.

Germany, a staunch defender of Israel’s security, warned that this would “effectively make UNRWA’s work in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem impossible… endangering vital humanitarian aid for millions of people.”

James Elder, spokesman for the UN children’s agency UNICEF, said suspending UNRWA’s work “will likely lead to the collapse of the humanitarian system in Gaza.”

He said UNICEF “will be unable to effectively distribute life-saving supplies” to combat malnutrition, such as vaccines, winter clothing, hygiene kits, health kits, water and ready-to-use therapeutic food.

UN chief Antonio Guterres said the Israeli law could lead to “devastating consequences” if implemented, while UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini warned that the vote “sets a dangerous precedent”.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on social media that Israel was “ready” to provide aid to Gaza “in a way that does not threaten Israel’s security.”

The ban comes as conflict escalates in Gaza and Lebanon, where a second large-scale front opened last month.

The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants raided Israel on October 7, 2023, killing approximately 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping around 250. About 100 hostages remain in Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead.

More than 43,000 Palestinians were killed in Israel’s retaliatory attack, according to local health authorities. Nearly 90 percent of the population of 2.3 million have been displaced from their homes, often multiple times. (AP/AFP)