Today, the UN-Palestinian Relief Agency, UNRWA, said it remains operational, providing humanitarian aid in Gaza, as well as the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

That's despite a ban that went into effect yesterday.

An Israeli law passed in October forbids UNRWA from operating on Israeli land and forbids contact with Israeli authorities.

Nick Schifrin has more.

UNRWA was established after the creation of the state of Israel as the primary UN agency to serve the Palestinian population.

In the decades since, it has come to provide some 6 million Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied territories, not only

humanitarian assistance, but education and health care. Israel has argued that UNRWA staff

helped commit the Hamas terror attacks on October the 7th, 2023. The UN has said nine

UNR staff may have been involved and were fired. To understand the status of UNRWA and its future, we get two views.

William Derey, director of UNRWA's Washington, D.C. office, and Asafarion, a retired

Brigadier General with the Israeli Defense Forces, now a fellow with the Washington Institute

for Near East Policy. Thanks very much to both of you. Welcome to the News Hour.

Bill Doree, let me start with you. Welcome to the News Hour. Bill Derry,

let me start with you. What is going on with UNRWA? As we said earlier, there is an official ban that has gone in effect, but you're still operating. So what's its status? The first day of the ban,

all UNRRA facilities in East Jerusalem and the West Bank remained open, save our field

headquarters in Jerusalem.

In fact, we had 400 medical consultations in East Jerusalem alone.

School's going to reopen again on Sunday.

In Gaza, our international staff remain, and we continue to stay and deliver. We are a major part of the humanitarian assistance effort, particularly since the ceasefire.

So, Asafaran, what should we make of that, in your opinion, that there is an official

ban on this organization, and yet it continues to operate?

I think it is important to understand the Israeli view of UNRWA.

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