Israel Has Bulldozed UNRWA’s Headquarters In Occupied East Jerusalem
UNRWA said the destruction further undermines its capacity to deliver lifesaving aid to civilians in Gaza and the occupied territories, where millions face food insecurity, disease and widespread displacement.
Israeli forces have bulldozed the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) headquarters in the occupied East Jerusalem, while Israel’s far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir supervised the demolition, calling it a “historic day”.
Israel had banned the UNRWA from “conducting any activity” in Israel, as well as in Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza on Oct. 28, 2024, and repeatedly attacked and accused UNRWA workers of working for Hamas, killing more than 300 UNRWA workers since it began its genocide in Gaza.
In October 2025, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s ban on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees UNRWA and aid blockade in Gaza violates international law.
Footage and reports from the scene on Tuesday, Jan. 20, showed bulldozers flattening buildings inside the UNRWA headquarters in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood, and putting an Israeli flag over the site.
Israeli forces demolished the structures using multiple bulldozers, confiscated equipment and expelled security personnel.
Ben-Gvir shared a video on X showing himself outside the UNRWA compound as a bulldozer began demolishing the site, calling the moment “a historic day” and describing it as “a holiday.” The destroyed site operated by UNRWA was to support displaced Palestinians.
UNRWA said the destruction further undermines its capacity to deliver lifesaving aid to civilians in Gaza and the occupied territories, where millions face food insecurity, disease and widespread displacement.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said the demolition marked “a new level of open and deliberate defiance of international law,” calling it an “unprecedented” “attack on a United Nations agency and its premises.
Lazzarini said the move follows a series of steps aimed at dismantling UNRWA’s operations, including the closure of a UNRWA health centre on Jan. 14 and plans to cut water and electricity to UN facilities in the coming weeks.
Israel’s government says its law came into force on banning dozens of aid groups in Gaza including all UNRWA operations, and accuses the agency of ties to Hamas. UNRWA and the United Nations have denied these allegations.
More than 37 aid groups and INGOs in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories lost their accreditation on Thursday, Jan. 1, giving them 60 days to cease operations.
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