The Foreign Minister of Russia, Sergey Lavrov, called for an investigation over Israel's claims that some staff working for the U.N. relief agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) participated in the Oct. 7 attacks, which were made shortly after a U.N. court called on Israel to prevent genocide in Gaza.
Speaking at a news conference in Moscow following a meeting with his Gambian counterpart Mamadou Tangara, Lavrov said what is happening in Gaza, where Israeli attacks have killed more than 26,000 people, is a "collective punishment prohibited by the international humanitarian law."
"If there are such accusations, we have to clear them out. From the very beginning, we condemned the terrorist attack on Oct. 7 and clearly said that it is necessary to fight terrorism in any of its manifestations with means that do not violate international humanitarian law. What has happened and is happening (in Gaza) is collective punishment, it is prohibited under international humanitarian law," he stressed.
Lavrov said if an investigation is conducted the facts will be known about whether Israel's allegations have any grounds.
"But if the investigation is being canceled, and instead there will be a collective punishment of the UNRWA and those, to whom it provided assistance, then I believe that this is a wrong decision. I hope, that the U.N. management will raise these questions in contact with Israeli representatives," he emphasized.
Several countries, including the U.S., U.K., Germany, France, Austria and Japan have suspended funds for the agency established in 1949 to cater to Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.
It is involved in primary and vocational education, primary healthcare, relief and social services, infrastructure and camp improvement, and emergency response.
UNRWA has fired several employees since Israel's accusations and promised a thorough investigation into the claims, which were not specified.
Israel's relentless military offensive since Oct. 7 has killed at least 26,751 people in Gaza, most of them women and children, according to Palestinian authorities.
