Report: Biden officials warn Trump team that UNRWA ban in Gaza could be ‘catastrophe’

8 January 2025, 4:57 pm

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A Palestinian child sits on top of sacks of flour at a United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) aid distribution center in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on November 3, 2024. (Eyad BABA / AFP)

Officials in the outgoing Biden administration have reportedly warned incoming Trump officials that an Israeli law that will effectively shut down UNRWA in Gaza could create a humanitarian “catastrophe.”

According to an Axios report citing three unnamed US officials, the outgoing State Department figures sought to brief their incoming replacements about a “looming crisis” once the law, passed by the Knesset last year, takes effect in a few weeks.

The report says that the officials briefed Trump transition executive Joel Rayburn about the situation and their concern over the implications of the ban, which they referred to as a “catastrophe waiting to happen.”