UNRWA staff cuts deepen in Gaza as Israel restricts critical aid access

Gaza City — After 18 years arsenic a teacher with an UNRWA-run school, Maryam Shaaban (name changed for information reasons) fainted upon learning she was among 600 employees dismissed from their posts, the latest successful a barrage of devastating blows borne retired of Israel’s genocidal warfare connected the besieged enclave.

Earlier successful January, the United Nations bureau for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) announced a bid of harsh austerity measures, including a 20 percent wage chopped for section unit successful Gaza, reduced moving hours, and the termination of contracts for employees based extracurricular Gaza who had been antecedently placed connected “exceptional leave”.

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According to a missive sent to affected unit by UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini, the bureau said it was forced to instrumentality steps owed to a terrible fiscal shortfall successful its 2026 fund of immoderate $220m.

The shortage threatens the agency’s quality to conscionable halfway operational obligations, including unit salaries and the continuation of indispensable humanitarian programmes.

Shaaban, 52, who is presently displaced successful Egypt with her injured husband, began moving with the UN bureau successful 2007 arsenic a teacher astatine 1 of the agency’s schools successful Jabalia, bluish Gaza.

Like astir residents of Gaza, she suffered a dense terms during Israel’s genocidal war.

She was displaced with her household from Jabalia to Nuseirat, successful cardinal Gaza, wherever they took refuge successful her brother’s home. In December 2023, they were deed by a nonstop Israeli aerial onslaught that killed 15 radical and injured dozens.

Among the victims were Maryam’s 22-year-old daughter, her brother, and his full family.

Israeli targeting of UNRWA

Sustained Israeli campaigns to decimate and denigrate the bureau person escalated to unprecedented levels.

Israel has repeatedly accused the bureau of being lenient oregon complicit with Palestinian equipped groups, without providing verifiable evidence. These are allegations UNRWA has vehemently denied, stressing that it takes disciplinary enactment against immoderate worker proven to beryllium progressive successful wrongdoing.

In 2025, the Israeli Knesset passed authorities efficaciously banning the agency’s operations successful areas it considers portion of “Israeli sovereignty”, including occupied East Jerusalem, claiming the bureau poses a information threat.

The bureau rejected the instrumentality arsenic amerciable and said it places it successful nonstop confrontation with Israeli authorities.

As of this month, the UN bureau has recorded deaths successful Israeli attacks of much than 380 of its unit members successful Gaza since October 2023.

Earlier this month, Israel sent successful bulldozers, partially destroying UNRWA’s headquarters successful East Jerusalem. Israeli lawmakers and members of the far-right authorities were besides present, according to Lazzarini, who said the onslaught came “in the aftermath of different steps taken by Israeli authorities to erase the Palestine Refugee identity”.

As a UN agency, it enjoys planetary ineligible status. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier successful January that helium could instrumentality Israel to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) if it does not repeal laws targeting UNRWA and instrumentality its seized assets and property.

‘By what instrumentality does this happen?’

Maryam herself sustained insignificant injuries successful the Israeli attack, portion 5 of her children besides suffered injuries. Her hubby was critically wounded successful the neck.

In April 2024, she near Gaza arsenic a aesculapian companion to her spouse, who was referred for attraction astatine an Egyptian hospital. She was forced to permission down the remainder of her children successful Gaza, including those who were wounded.

“It feels similar leaving for attraction and escaping decease has go a transgression we are being punished for,” Maryam told Al Jazeera by phone, her dependable breaking with tears.

“Wasn’t it capable that I spent each this clip grieving for my injured children, being distant from them and perpetually disquieted astir them portion accompanying my hubby successful treatment? They added to our wounds by dismissing america from our jobs. By what instrumentality does this happen?”

For Maryam and galore others who were displaced extracurricular Gaza during the war, the stroke was particularly severe, arsenic it followed a February 2025 determination to spot them connected “exceptional leave” contempt the information that galore of them continued teaching remotely.

“All my children are injured and person metallic plates successful their limbs. They suffered immensely aft my wage stopped,” said the parent of eight.

In the past 2 weeks, the situation has extended to employees who stay successful the Strip, aft the bureau decided to chopped their salaries by 20 percent, a determination that has further deepened their humanitarian suffering amid Gaza’s catastrophic conditions.

The fiscal shortfall comes amid a diminution successful planetary donations, which had agelong formed the backbone of UNRWA’s budget, peculiarly aft respective donor states froze their contributions pursuing Israeli allegations against immoderate of its employees.

UNRWA provides indispensable services to millions of Palestinian refugees, who marque up astir 70 percent of the Gaza population, including education, healthcare, and societal assistance, playing a cardinal relation successful maintaining a minimum level of stableness amid repeated Israeli wars and restrictions connected crossings.

Dr Mustafa al-Ghoul, a dentist with UNRWA for 29 years, who heads the agency’s unit union, is presently starring protests against its caller decisions [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera]

Why Gaza first?

There has been wide choler and protests among UNRWA unit successful Gaza, some wrong and extracurricular the Strip, who reason that the measures disproportionately people Gaza compared with the agency’s different 5 areas of operation: the occupied West Bank, Jerusalem, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.

Mustafa al-Ghoul, caput of the UNRWA unit national successful Gaza and a dentist who has worked with the bureau for 29 years, questioned wherefore Gaza — the astir devastated and afflicted country — was chosen arsenic the archetypal sacrifice.

“All the measures started successful Gaza, arsenic if Gaza is not already overwhelmed by death, destruction, and hunger,” helium told Al Jazeera, lasting successful beforehand of their partially destroyed office successful Gaza City.

Of immoderate of the 600 dismissed Palestinian employees who were extracurricular Gaza, the cutting disconnected of their salaries and savings without anterior notice, al-Ghoul said, “Some are sick. Some person cancer. Some were connected authoritative leave. Some mislaid their full families. Some near to dainty a grandchild, and past they are punished with dismissal and deprivation of their rights.”

“Gaza needs idiosyncratic to heal its wounds. Gaza is dying. You spot tents, death, and demolition everywhere. Gaza needs compassion, not dismissals and the drying up of its lifelines,” al-Ghoul appealed to UNRWA’s leadership.

Jihan al-Harazin with her hubby and their 3 children successful their structure westbound of Gaza City, wherever they were displaced aft their location was destroyed [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera]

‘UNRWA was the backbone of our survival’

Union warnings astir the consequences of UNRWA cuts are already disposable successful the scarred regular lives of displaced Palestinians successful Gaza, peculiarly successful education, healthcare and nutrient security.

This diminution is reflected successful the grounds of Jihan al-Harazin, 28, a parent of three, displaced successful Gaza City, whose household relied astir wholly connected the agency’s services.

“UNRWA was the backbone of our survival,  successful health, education, and food. It provided everything,” she told Al Jazeera.

That reality, however, has changed dramatically since the warfare began.

“Now, determination is nothing,” Jihan said, referring to the nutrient assistance that UNRWA has not been capable to administer for months.

Since October 2023, each humanitarian agencies, peculiarly the UN egency, person faced persistent obstacles successful delivering assistance to Gaza.

On aggregate occasions, Lazzarini accused Israel of utilizing humanitarian assistance arsenic a governmental tool. He said Israel is utilizing assistance to Gaza “as a weapon” to deepen civilian suffering.

‘A warfare waged connected humanitarian work’ successful Gaza

Amjad Shawa, manager of the Palestinian NGOs Network (PNGO) successful Gaza, told Al Jazeera that UNRWA represents “the backbone of humanitarian enactment successful the Palestinian territory”, stressing that its relation extends beyond services to the governmental halfway of the exile contented arsenic 1 of the past pillars of humanitarian and societal stableness successful Gaza.

“UNRWA carries a cardinal origin for our people, the exile origin itself. It was established by a UN General Assembly solution and has operated for decades,” helium said.

Al-Shawa said the bureau is facing “continuous Israeli incitement” alongside Israeli bans connected its operations successful the occupied Palestinian territory, peculiarly Gaza, and the obstruction of humanitarian aid.

He warned that weakening UNRWA serves Israel’s docket to erase the Palestinians’ close of instrumentality and compensation. That has been a cardinal extremity of the successive Israeli governments.

Linking the agency’s cuts to a broader run against humanitarian enactment successful Gaza, al-Shawa noted Israel has faced global condemnation aft a prohibition connected dozens of planetary assistance organisations moving to supply life-saving assistance to Palestinians successful the war-ravaged Gaza Strip came into effect.

“There is simply a warfare being waged against humanitarian work, including UNRWA, and we are paying the terms for our committedness to planetary humanitarian law, a instrumentality the Israeli concern refuses to uphold.”