Israel has refused to renew visas for the heads of at least three United Nations agencies in Gaza, which the UN humanitarian chief blames on their work trying to protect Palestinian civilians in the war-torn territory. Visas for the local leaders of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, known as OCHA; the human rights agency OHCHR; and the agency supporting Palestinians in Gaza, UNRWA, have not been renewed in recent months, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric confirmed.

Tom Fletcher, UN head of humanitarian affairs, told the Security Council on Wednesday that the UN's humanitarian mandate is not just to provide aid to civilians in need and report what its staff witnesses but to advocate for international humanitarian law. 'Each time we report on what we see, we face threats of further reduced access to the civilians we are trying to serve,' he said. 'Nowhere today is the tension between our advocacy mandate and delivering aid greater than in Gaza.'

Fletcher said, 'Visas are not renewed or reduced in duration by Israel, explicitly in response to our work on protection of civilians.' Israel's UN mission did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment about the visa renewals. Israel has been sharply critical of UNRWA, even before Hamas' October 7, 2023, surprise attack in southern Israel ' accusing the agency of colluding with Hamas and teaching anti-Israel hatred, which UNRWA vehemently denies.