Israel has formally banned the main United Nations aid agency for Palestinian refugees from operating on its territory despite heavy diplomatic backlash.

UNRWA clinics across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, are open,’ says spokesman - Anadolu Ajansı

Israel’s Knesset (parliament) voted in October to ban UNRWA’s operations in areas under Israeli occupation, alleging that the UN agency’s employees were involved in a Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023 -- a charge UNRWA denies.

Israel demands UNRWA halt operations in Jerusalem by January 30, citing Hamas ties and security risks. The move follows Knesset legislation severing ties with the agency.

The United Nation's Palestinian refugee agency said on Sunday it had been ordered by Israel to vacate premises and cease all of its operations in occupied East Jerusalem by Thursday.

Iman Helles, a displaced mother sheltering in a facility run by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees in Gaza, fears that she will now be “thrown out to the streets” with her three children.

Israel decided to ban the UN agency for Palestinian refugees following accusations some of its staff belong to Hamas.

Israel says UNRWA staff took part in Hamas’s bloody 7 October attacks on southern Israel, in which around 1,200 people were killed and another 250 taken hostage. Israel's retaliatory air and ground offensive inside Gaza has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians according to the enclave's health ministry.

WASHINGTON, Jan 29: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on the Israeli government to reverse its decision to suspend the operations of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in Jerusalem, emphasizing the vital role the agency plays in serving the Palestinian population.

UNRWA schools in east Jerusalem and 8,000 medical consultations are conducted each year. Read more at straitstimes.com.

The UN has said that its aid agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, will continue working in all Palestinian territories, including east Jerusalem, as Israel cut ties with the organisation.