Government urged to rethink embattled UNRWA funding amid likely Rafah offensive

Labor politicians and Muslim leaders are pressuring Anthony Albanese to restore funding to the UN’s Palestinian aid agency before Israel’s potential assault on the civilian-heavy city of Rafah, despite discovery of an underground military complex beneath the group’s Gaza headquarters.

A ground offensive into the southern Gaza city – home to about 1.5 million Palestinian refugees – is increasingly likely after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued evacuation orders last week so that the country’s military could target four Hamas battalions.

Jewish leaders in Australia called the move “essential” to defeat Hamas, although others have described it as a “death sentence”. The US has warned Israel an invasion would be a “disaster”.

Last week, the Israeli government said it had found a complex of computer servers under the Gaza HQ of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees, which allegedly served as a communications centre and intelligence hub for Hamas. It comes amid a probe into allegations some of its staff were involved in the October 7 attacks.

Given the likely Rafah offensive, Labor Calwell MP Maria Vamvakinou said funding to the UN agency needed to be reinstated. “I don’t think we can wait (for the UNRWA investigation), certainly in light of

Ms Vamvakinou said the possible invasion into Rafah went “above and beyond” Israel’s right to defend itself. “Israel needs to be called out (on any invasion),” she said. “Funding needs to be re­instated now… (there are) reasons to question the nature of the evidence and allegations, given who’s putting it forward.”

Israeli officials said the compound below the UNRWA building appeared to have run on electricity drawn from the UN’s power supply and asserted the organisation would have been aware of the complex, either during its construction or by a jump in electricity usage when it started operating.

UNRWA said in a statement that reports of tunnels under its headquarters “merit an independent inquiry,” and it “does not have the military and security expertise nor the capacity to undertake military inspections of what is or might be under its premises.”

The agency, which evacuated from the compound in October, said Israel hadn’t officially informed it of any Hamas complex under its offices. It said whenever a suspicious cavity had been discovered near a UNRWA facility, it had filed protest letters to Gazan authorities and informed the Israeli government.

It comes after the Australian government suspended a $6m funding tranche to the agency in January after the Israeli government alleged as many as 12 staff members were involved in the Oct­ober 7 attacks.

The latest allegations come amid a looming military offensive into Rafah that political and Muslim leaders said would be “worse than a nightmare” but which Jewish leaders called “essential” to destroy “the final Hamas battalions”.

“If they (Hamas) care for their people more than they care for killing Israelis, they will surrender or at least let all civilians evacuate and meet the IDF on the battlefield,” Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin said. “To limit civilian hardship, Israel has given up any element of surprise by telegraphing where its forces are going to strike … this also allows Hamas to set its ambushes, and place civilians in harm’s way.”

Zionist Federation of Australia chief Alon Cassuto said it was “unthinkable” that the UNRWA was not aware of the apparent Hamas centre and aid should go to other agencies. “Hamas co-opted UNRWA long ago; their schools and workers now echo Hamas’s radical narrative,” he said, accusing it of “turning a blind eye”.

Labor NSW MP Anthony D’Adam, a spokesman for the Labor Friends of Palestine group, said while alternatives could be put in place, it would require time, which Palestinians did not have.

“The situation is desperate – irrespective of the allegations, assistance must flow,” he said, adding that “saving lives” had to take “priority” and the UNRWA remained the best “mechanism” for aid.

“Alternatives can be put in place over time if necessary, but in an urgent situation, the inter­national community has no alternative but to restore funding.”

A Department of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman said the government remained concerned about the allegations but it welcomed the UNRWA’s response and investigation.

On Saturday, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said she was “deeply concerned” about a military offensive into Rafah, and Lebanese-Australian Muslim leader Jamal Rifi said it was “worse than a nightmare”.

“Rafah was supposed to be a safe haven,” he said.“Millions now have to move somewhere, somewhere they don’t know where.”

Dr Rifi said regardless of the allegations, funding to the UNRWA should be restored and aid should be based on humanitarian needs.

The Liberals have called on the Prime Minister to “sack” Senator Wong over the fallout, calling her position “untenable” if money had gone to an organisation associated with a terrorist group.

Australia Palestine Advocacy Network president Nasser Mashni called the evacuation orders in Rafah a “death sentence”, and Australia National Imams Council spokesman Bilal Rauf said millions of Palestinians sheltering in Rafah had “nowhere else to go”.

Greens leader Adam Bandt claimed the offensive would be a “bloodbath”

Israeli airstrikes killed at least 44 Palestinians – including more than a dozen children – in Rafah, hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he asked the military to plan for the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people ahead of an invasion.

The announcement set off panic. More than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people are packed into Rafah, which borders Egypt. Many fled there after complying with Israeli evacuation orders that now cover two-thirds of the territory. It’s not clear where they could go next.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said any Israeli ground offensive on Rafah would have ‘‘disastrous consequences’’ and asserted that Israel aims to eventually force the Palestinians out of their land. Egypt has warned that any movement of Palestinians into Egypt would threaten the four-decade-old peace treaty between Israel and Egypt.

Another mediator, Qatar, also warned of disaster, and Saudi Arabia warned of ‘‘very serious repercussions’’. There’s even increasing friction between Netanyahu and the United States, whose officials have said a Rafah invasion with no plan for civilians there would lead to disaster.

‘‘The people in Gaza cannot disappear into thin air,’’ German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on X, adding that an Israeli offensive on Rafah would be a ‘‘humanitarian catastrophe in the making’’.

Israel has carried out almost daily airstrikes in Rafah, a rare entry point for Gaza’s badly needed food and medical supplies, during its ground combat in Khan Younis just to the north.

In Khan Younis, Israeli forces opened fire at Nasser Hospital, the area’s largest, killing at least two people and wounding five, according to the medical charity, Doctors Without Borders.

Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said hospital staff are no longer able to move between buildings because of the intense fire. He said 450 patients and 10,000 displaced people are sheltering there.

The Israeli military said troops were not operating inside the hospital but called the surrounding area ‘‘an active combat zone’’.

Israel’s army chief, Lieutenant General Herzl Halevi, said more than 2000 Hamas fighters in Khan Younis had been killed in airstrikes and ground combat, but the offensive in the city was far from over.

The Gaza Health Ministry said the bodies of 117 people killed in Israeli airstrikes were brought to hospitals over the 24 hours to yesterday morning (AEDT), raising the death toll from the offensive to 28,064, mostly women and children. The ministry said more than 67,000 people have been wounded.

Netanyahu’s office says it is impossible to eliminate Hamas while leaving four Hamas battalions in Rafah. The United Nations says the city that’s normally home to less than 300,000 people now hosts 1.4 million others who fled fighting elsewhere and is severely overcrowded. AP