Israeli bulldozers began demolishing buildings inside the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East’s headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem on Tuesday, a move UNRWA described as an “unprecedented attack” and a serious breach of international law, as tensions between Israel and the UN agency escalated sharply.
The demolition unfolded shortly after 7:00 a.m. local time at UNRWA’s main compound in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, where journalists on the scene reported Israeli forces entering the site and raising an Israeli flag inside the premises.
Witnesses, including an Agence France-Presse (AFP) photographer, confirmed that heavy machinery tore into structures within the compound as security forces secured the area. Some accounts said far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was present during the operation.
UNRWA spokesman Jonathan Fowler said Israeli forces had “stormed into” the compound, calling the move a direct assault on the agency and its protected status.
“This is an unprecedented attack against UNRWA and its premises,” Fowler told AFP. “It also constitutes a serious violation of international law and the privileges and immunities of the United Nations.”
Israel’s Foreign Ministry rejected that characterization, arguing that the site no longer qualified for UN protections.
In a statement, it said UNRWA had ceased operations at the compound and that no UN personnel were present.
“UNRWA-Hamas had already ceased its operations at this site,” the ministry said, using language Israel has increasingly employed to link the agency to Hamas. “The compound does not enjoy any immunity, and the seizure was carried out in accordance with both Israeli and international law.”
Israel has long accused UNRWA of providing cover for Hamas members, allegations that intensified after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, incursion that killed about 1,200 people in Israel and sparked Tel Aviv's retaliatory genocide in Gaza.
Israeli officials claim some UNRWA employees were involved in the assault.
The agency has denied institutional involvement, citing strict neutrality rules.
Independent investigations in 2024 found no evidence of systemic complicity, though a small number of staff were dismissed.
The demolition follows a string of Israeli actions targeting UNRWA facilities in East Jerusalem in early 2026.
On Jan. 12, Israeli forces entered the UNRWA-operated Jerusalem Health Centre, ordered it shut for 30 days and demanded the removal of U.N. insignia.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned that move as an “unlawful entry” into U.N. property.
“The Secretary-General strongly condemns the Israeli authorities’ unlawful entry into a United Nations property in occupied East Jerusalem,” his spokesman Farhan Haq said, adding that the closure of the health center directly undermined UNRWA’s humanitarian mandate.
The U.N. has also warned that Israeli authorities notified utility providers to cut electricity and water to multiple UNRWA facilities in East Jerusalem, further threatening operations.
Haq said those measures violate the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, which guarantees the inviolability of UN premises.
Guterres raised “grave concerns” directly with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Jan. 8 and alerted the presidents of the UN General Assembly and Security Council. He urged Israel to immediately restore the Sheikh Jarrah compound and the Jerusalem Health Centre and ensure utilities remain connected.
The confrontations stem from Israeli legislation passed in October 2024 banning UNRWA activities in Israeli-controlled territory, including occupied East Jerusalem, and severing official ties with the agency.
The laws took effect in early 2025 despite widespread international criticism.
Further amendments approved by the Knesset in late December 2025 authorized the disconnection of water and electricity to UNRWA facilities and imposed additional operational restrictions.
Guterres said the measures were incompatible with Israel’s obligations under international law.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini has warned that the cumulative effect of the laws and enforcement actions amounts to a deliberate effort to dismantle the agency’s presence in East Jerusalem. In mid-January, UNRWA said its footprint there was “shrinking fast,” raising fears operations could soon end entirely.
UNRWA was established in 1949 to assist Palestinians displaced during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.
Today, it provides education, health care and social services to about 5.9 million registered Palestinian refugees across Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. The agency employs roughly 30,000 staff, most of them Palestinian refugees.
Its work has been increasingly strained by funding crises, political pressure and the war in Gaza, where local health authorities say more than 45,000 Palestinians have been killed and nearly the entire population displaced.
