The coalition of Israeli lawmakers are trying to hamstring the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), claiming it is a tool of Hamas, Al Jazeera reports citing the Israel Hayom newspaper.

Speaking to Israel Hayom, Knesset member Sharren Haskel, who heads the parliament’s lobby to reform UNRWA, said she met with other parliament members “to try to stop funds which are being transferred from various countries to this organization, and remove UNRWA’s mask”.

In a December 30 post on X, UNRWA’s Gaza director, Thomas White, warned people in Gaza “are hungry and just desperate for food”, with 40 per cent of the population at risk of famine.