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Middle East conflict

UN Security Council should rule out scenario of UN ending work in Gaza — Russian mission

Dmitry Polyansky added that "humanitarian workers themselves are fully resolved to continue to valiantly carry out their duty for the sake of those in need in Gaza"

Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky AP Photo/John Minchillo

Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky

© AP Photo/John Minchillo

UNITED NATIONS, August 30. /TASS/. Russia is concerned by reports of the possibility of the United Nations and its agencies ending their work in the Gaza Strip, and urges the UN Security Council to prevent this scenario, Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky said.

"We are extremely concerned about the emergence of information that the UN could possibly cease its work in the Gaza Strip. And certain Israeli politicians are interested in such a scenario, although they are trying to conceal this. We are convinced that the Council must spare no effort to preclude this from happening," he told the UN Security Council briefing on the Middle East.

The Russian diplomat added that "humanitarian workers themselves are fully resolved to continue to valiantly carry out their duty for the sake of those in need in Gaza."

A high-rankig UN official said earlier this week that Israel’s recent evacuation orders almost completely paralyzed UN efforts in the enclave. In his words, the evacuation order related to the city of Deir al-Balah was the most harmful of them all, because this area houses the largest number of UN relief workers. He said that so far, there have been no information on where the international organization’s personnel will relocate.

Around 250,000 Palestinians from the Gaza Strip were forced to flee their homes due to hostilities, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said on August 25. So far in August, the Israeli authorities issued 13 evacuation orders, which affected Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis. These orders also affected relief workers from the United Nations and other non-governmental and humanitarian organizations.

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