On June 30, a group of more than 240 NGOs released a statement decrying the current state of affairs in Gaza.
The statement disturbingly sums up the situation: “Today, Palestinians in Gaza face an impossible choice: starve or risk being shot while trying desperately to reach food to feed their families.”
Over the course of the past few weeks, at least 766 Palestinians have been killed and 5,044 injured while attempting to prevent themselves and their families from starving to death.
Describing the horrors these Palestinians face, the statement notes: “Under the Israeli government’s new scheme, starved and weakened civilians are being forced to trek for hours through dangerous terrain and active conflict zones, only to face a violent, chaotic race to reach fenced, militarized distribution sites with a single entry point. There, thousands are released into chaotic enclosures to fight for limited food supplies. These areas have become sites of repeated massacres in blatant disregard for international humanitarian law.”
The situation is in part a result of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) being banned by Israel in October 2024, and the design of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), the organization set up to replace it.
For example, the NGO statement noted that the more than 400 aid sites previously in Gaza have now been “replaced by just four military-controlled distribution sites.” In addition, journalists have reported that Israeli soldiers and the contractors at these sites have been ordered to fire at civilians and/or done so at will.
The NGOs ultimately “call for immediate action to end the deadly Israeli distribution scheme (including the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation) in Gaza” and to “revert to the existing UN-led coordination mechanisms.”
UNRWA has been attacked by Zionists for decades, but the campaign intensified after Oct. 7, 2023.
In January 2024, Israel publicly alleged that 12 UNRWA staffers took part in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack, with 190 others offering various forms of support. This specific allegation is currently being investigated by the Office of Internal Oversight Services, an internal United Nations’ watchdog.
However, Al Jazeera has reported that an independent investigation into UNRWA’s neutrality “headed by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna and supported by three Nordic research institutes, makes clear that Israel failed to support its claims about UNRWA staff belonging to either Hamas’s military wing or the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.”
A separate report produced by the Nordic groups also stated: “Israeli authorities have to date not provided any supporting evidence nor responded to letters from UNRWA in March, and again in April, requesting the names and supporting evidence that would enable UNRWA to open an investigation.”
In addition, a report released by UNRWA in February 2024 stated: “Agency staff members have been subject to threats and coercion by the Israeli authorities while in detention, and pressured to make false statements against the Agency, including that the Agency has affiliations with Hamas and that UNRWA staff members took part in the 7 October 2023 atrocities.”
Reuters added that the report stated the forms of coercion included “severe physical beatings, waterboarding, and threats of harm to family members.”
This Israeli campaign led several Western nations, including Canada, to temporarily cut funding to UNRWA, which had more than 13,000 employees in Gaza, and laid the groundwork for Israel to ban the agency. More than 300 UNRWA workers have also been killed since Oct. 7, 2023, the vast majority of them by Israel.
Canadian media played a role in spreading Israel’s narrative about UNRWA to the public. As such, I decided to compile a list of opinion writers in Canadian newspapers who called for UNRWA to be defunded or dismantled entirely after Oct. 7, 2023.
To do so, I searched for “UNRWA” in the Canadian Newsstream database, and limited the results to mentions in opinion articles and editorials. I read through each one, noted those that directly called for UNRWA to be defunded or dismantled (or endorsed forces calling/responsible for defunding/dismantling), and then categorized the results by each author’s name. This means that dozens of articles where the authors spread libels about UNRWA, but did not call for it to be defunded/dismantled, were left out of the results.
Then I reached out to each author to ask if they regret what they’d written given recent events in Gaza and the role UNRWA’s removal from the territory has played in enabling them. Just one responded.
Here’s what I found.
Avi Benlolo
Bio: “Avi Abraham Benlolo is the founder and CEO of the Abraham Global Peace Initiative – a prominent Canadian think-tank.” - National Post author bio
Quotes:
- “UNRWA must be removed from Gaza alongside Hamas. A new non-permanent humanitarian relief program must be created to build a new society that can coexist peacefully with Israel. Anything else will be detrimental to both Palestinians and Israelis living in the region.” - National Post, December 2023: “Like Hamas, UNRWA must be removed from Gaza”
- “Before working to establish a Palestinian state, the international community must dismantle corrupt aid agencies like the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). Some UNRWA staff were found to have participated in the Oct. 7 massacre.” - National Post, February 2024: “Biden’s foolhardy plan for a two-state solution”
- “Last week, my organization, The Abraham Global Peace Initiative, released a major report demonstrating the problematic behaviour by UNRWA - in fact, arguing for its dismantling rather than for renewed funding.” - National Post, April 2024: “Hatred on our streets abetted by Hamas terrorist-supporting politicians”
- “A co-ordinated effort has been underway to discredit the newly formed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation designed to provide food aid without Hamas’s interference. Hamas and its apologists have tried to paint this effort as chaotic or violent. Let me be clear: the only reason the United Nations is no longer operating in Gaza is because of its complicity.” - National Post, June 2025: “Media fuels violence with false reporting on Gaza”
Response to comment request: No response.
Vivian Bercovici
Bio: “Vivian Bercovici is a former Canadian ambassador to Israel and the founder of the State of Tel Aviv.” - National Post author bio
Quote: “Today, UNRWA is a farce that’s controlled by Hamas and other interests, which openly advocate for the destruction of Israel. [...] Chastising Israel for severing ties with UNRWA is a grotesque moral inversion.” - National Post, November 2024: “Israel right to cut ties with UNRWA”
Response to comment request: No response.
Conrad Black
Bio: “Historian, Columnist, Financier, Justice Reform Advocate, Author of ‘A President Like No Other: Donald J. Trump.’” - Twitter bio
Quote: “If the United Kingdom, France and Canada were not absolutely morally bankrupt on the issue of Israel’s contest with neighbouring terrorist organizations, they would accompany their demand for humanitarian assistance by the complete exclusion of any role for the United Nations in the distribution of that assistance.” - National Post, May 2025 (republished in The Winnipeg Sun): “Canada covers itself in shame over Israel.”
Response to comment request: No response.
Rick Hillier
Bio: “Rick J. Hillier is a retired Canadian Forces general who served as the chief of defence staff from February 2005 to July 2008.” - National Post author bio
Quote: “Stop funding UNRWA. UNRWA has long been known for providing sympathy and support for Hamas. The hundreds of kilometres of sophisticated tunnels under Gaza, the command centres built underneath United Nations buildings and hospitals and the weapons caches cost considerable amounts of money. Hamas was only able to afford them because western governments, such as ours, financed basic services in Gaza through organizations like UNRWA. Enough aid has gone to Gaza to build a solid and thriving society. Yet Hamas has chosen to maintain a perpetual state of violence rather than providing basic government services and lifting its people out of poverty. Meanwhile, hatred and incitement to violence is taught in UNRWA schools and it has allowed Hamas to use its infrastructure for terrorist purposes. UNRWA is part of the murderous problem, not the solution. Funding it means we are funding terror.” - National Post, May 2024: “Ottawa abandoned Canadian Jews in their darkest hour”
Response to comment request: No response.
Jesse Kline
Bio: “Deputy Comment Editor and columnist at the National Post.” - Twitter bio
Quote: “As we saw in the leaders’ debate, only the Conservatives seem to take seriously the threat posed by terrorist organizations like Hamas, its state sponsors in Iran and its supporters here at home. The Tory platform promises to ‘strengthen alliances and ties with countries that share our values to stand up against hostile and authoritarian regimes that threaten global security and stability’; ‘stand up against the tyrannical regime in Tehran’ by seizing its Canadian assets, expelling IRGC agents and supporting Iranian dissidents; and defunding ‘international institutions like UNRWA … that don’t uphold Canada’s interests and values.’ [...] I would not presume to tell people how to cast their ballots, but as a Jew, I cannot, in good conscience, vote for any party other than the Conservatives in this election.” - National Post, April 2025: “A clear choice for Jewish voters in this election”
Response to comment request: No response.
Danielle Kubes
Bio: “Millennial personal finance expert. I report on hard-hitting issues, like how Tinder dates are costing you too much money, the cheapest method of birth control and why you should ditch the dream of owning a condo.” - Professional website
Quote: “As long as UNRWA exists, it will continue to nurture this dangerous foundational myth and thwart peace between Palestinians and Israelis. If Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is serious about peace, he should immediately remove Canada’s financial support for UNRWA, which amounted to nearly US$23.8 million ($31.7 million) in 2022.” - National Post, January 2024: “Funding UNRWA has only served to perpetuate violence in the Middle East”
Response to comment request: “UNWRA [sic] has not been replaced by GHF, only its aid distribution centre has so that fact is wrong. However, I’m absolutely delighted that UNWRA [sic] has been defunded. It has long propped up Hamas, made Gazans too dependent on aid and is an unbelievably corrupt organization. Now that Hamas cannot control aid distribution we should see the terrorists severely weakened — as long as they were stealing food and reselling it for higher prices to the population they were able to remain in control of Gaza. Now we see local clans who have always clashed with Hamas stepping forward, realizing there is an opportunity for leadership. Direct distribution of aid to the population is a great step until they can become agriculturally independent. Hamas obviously hates GHF as they kidnapped and killed a dozen Palestinian workers so it must really be hurting them to have UNWRA [sic] gone. Israel is incredible for funding this operation from their own coffers. What other country would be so generously feeding their enemy during wartime? As GHF continues their operations they will continue to improve and they will work out the kinks in distribution. I am not surprised that other NGO’s criticize GHF because they see how easily they can all be replaced and the population is starting to see how wasteful and corrupt these organizations are. So in short, no I absolutely do not regret what I wrote — quite the opposite I cannot be more happy than everybody has woken up to what UNWRA [sic] truly is.”
Rahim Mohamed
Bio: “Rahim Mohamed is a political columnist based in Calgary. His writing has appeared in a number of major outlets, including National Post, The Line, and the Calgary Herald. He holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.” - National Post author bio
Quote: “While the Canadian government has played a counterproductive role in Gaza over the past nine months, it now has an opportunity to be a more constructive partner, with Gazan reconstruction on the horizon. Listening to voices on the ground - who are loudly rejecting the Hamas-UNRWA axis and proposing a new path forward - would be an excellent starting point.” - National Post, July 2024 (republished in The Winnipeg Sun): “Palestinians fed up with Hamas pitch Canadian MPs on Gaza bubbles plan”
Response to comment request: No response.
National Post editorial board
Quote: “Ottawa provides more than $50 million annually for Palestinian aid programs, including up to $25 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper ceased aid to UNRWA because of its alleged ties to Hamas, but the Liberals restored funding in 2016. This aid should be halted immediately.” - National Post, October 2023: “Canada must help bring Hamas down”
Response to comment request: No response.
Terry Newman
Bio: “Senior Editor & Columnist NP Comment/Professed @McGillU & @Concordia.” - Twitter bio
Quote: “The Canadian government has chosen to continue to fund UNRWA [...] Stopping the flow of funds to terrorist organizations and those sympathetic to them starts at the highest level in Canada - our government. Hopefully, Canadians will not have to pay heavy costs for their unseriousness in these matters.” - National Post, May 2025: “How Toronto terrorist funder used Gaza to finance ISIS”
Response to comment request: No response.
Nadav Steinman
Bio: “Nadav Steinman, originally from Montreal and Ottawa, is a lawyer who serves as Board Chair of the International Legal Forum, an NGO focused on combating antisemitism.” - National Post author bio
Quote: “The suspension of funding to UNRWA following credible reports that numerous staff members participated in the October 7 atrocities was initially welcomed. However, the abrupt reversal of that suspension and the decision to restore funding - without sufficient safeguards or accountability - sent a chilling message: that moral clarity can be sacrificed for political expediency. [...] In stark contrast stands Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who has emerged as a principled and consistent voice in defence of the Jewish people and the State of Israel. Poilievre has not only condemned antisemitic violence in unequivocal terms but has pledged to reorient Canada’s foreign policy in support of democratic allies and against terrorism. He has committed to defunding UNRWA, recognizing its deeply compromised role in perpetuating incitement and terror.” - National Post, April 2025: “For Jewish Canadians, this election presents a stark choice”
Response to comment request: No response.
Toronto Sun editorial board
Quote: “These latest allegations against UNRWA follow years of similar controversies. A serious solution would be to dismantle UNRWA and fund credible charitable and relief organizations to deliver aid and educational services to Gaza’s beleaguered Palestinian population. Because as long as UNRWA survives, it will continue to conduct itself as it always has.” - Toronto Sun, February 2024 (republished in The Calgary Sun, The Edmonton Sun, The Ottawa Sun, The Winnipeg Sun): “Shut down UN’s discredited relief agency”
Response to comment request: No response.
Einat Wilf
Bio: “Einat Wilf is a former member of Knesset.” - National Post author bio
Quotes: “Anyone who truly cares about charting a path to true peace in the Middle East should have every interest in ensuring UNRWA is dismantled.” - National Post, February 2024: “Without UNRWA there would be no Hamas — it must be dismantled”
Response to comment request: No response.
