Israel demolishes headquarters of UN agency which provides aid to Palestinians

Israeli crews have begun bulldozing a United Nations headquarters in east Jerusalem as the government tightens restrictions on humanitarian groups that provide aid to Palestinians.

UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, said on X that Israeli forces had confiscated staff devices and forced them out of their headquarters in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood.

“This is an unprecedented attack not only against UNRWA and its premises. It constitutes a serious violation of international law and the privileges and immunities of the United Nations,” it said.

Israel has long decried UNRWA for what it said is pro-Palestinian leanings and accused the group of ties to Hamas — which the UN agency has strongly denied.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said the demolition was following through on a new law that banned the organisation, accusing it of ties to militant groups and Hamas.

National security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said in a statement that he had accompanied crews to the headquarters and called it a “historic day”.

UNRWA maintains infrastructure in Palestinian refugee camps and also runs schools and provides healthcare to Palestinian refugees in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, as well as in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. Palestinians say it is critical to ensuring people receive basic services but the group has for decades been a target of Israel.

The Trump administration cut funding for the group in 2018. Israel’s Knesset last year passed legislation banning it from functioning in what it defines as Israel — including east Jerusalem, where the organisation is headquartered.

The ban dovetailed with broader efforts to deregister aid groups operating in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

Israel has passed laws requiring non-governmental organisations not to hire staff involved in activities that “delegitimise Israel” or support boycotts, demanding they register lists of names as a condition of being allowed to work.

Israeli authorities told dozens of groups that their licences would expire at the end of 2025.