Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), has described as “a new welcome milestone” the UN General Assembly’s vote to seek the opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) regarding Israel’s legal obligations to facilitate aid to Gaza, Al Jazeera reports.

The vote yesterday proved that the majority of UN members “stand in solidarity” with Palestinian refugees and “question the legality of the Israeli Parliament bills aimed at dismantling UNRWA”, Lazzarini wrote on X.

Israel’s moves to ban UNRWA would deprive Palestinians of “lifesaving assistance” as well as the right to education for hundreds of thousands“ of Palestinian children currently living in the “rubble of Gaza”, he said.

Lazzarini also noted that in July, the ICJ had ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory was illegal. “Respect for international law must be upheld with no exceptions,” he said.