At the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), Pakistan has warned against the dangers of dismantling the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) that provides aid to Palestinian refugees, Radio Pakistan reports.

The statement was made by Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Munir Akram, during a briefing on the aid agency at the UNSC.

Radio Pakistan quoted him as saying that by targeting the UNRWA, Israel sought to “dismantle not only the structures that are critical to providing humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people, but also to erode the identity of Palestinian people and the rights they possess”.

He described the role of UNRWA as being critical to the successful implementation of the ceasefire, the provision of adequate humanitarian assistance and the reconstruction of Gaza.