U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield speaks throughout a press convention on the United Nations headquarters.

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

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Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield speaks throughout a press convention on the United Nations headquarters.

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

As Israel prepares to escalate its navy marketing campaign on the southern Gaza metropolis of Rafah, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield told NPR that Israel has an obligation to maintain civilians secure, and that beneath present circumstances, a deliberate navy operation there “cannot proceed.”

The movement of humanitarian help continues to lag far behind the wants of the almost 1.5 million Palestinians who’ve taken shelter in Rafah.

Meanwhile, the first company delivering help on the bottom, UNRWA, continues to be embroiled in scandal.

On Saturday, the Israeli navy stated it discovered a network of Hamas tunnels beneath the company’s Gaza headquarters. The commissioner common of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, stated the company was unaware of what was beneath the constructing and that the allegations “merit an independent inquiry.”

The beleaguered group faces a disaster of funding, as prime donor nations, together with the United States, have moved to droop their funding. This got here in response to accusations leveled by Israel in late January that 12 UNRWA staff had direct involvement within the Hamas assault on Oct. 7, which killed some 1,200 individuals in Israel.

In an interview on Friday with NPR diplomatic correspondent Michele Kelemen, Thomas-Greenfield spoke concerning the U.S. place on Israel’s plans to ramp up navy operations in Rafah, and the efforts to make sure humanitarian help continues to succeed in civilians on the bottom.

This interview has been flippantly edited for size and readability and contains prolonged web-only questions and solutions.

Interview Highlights

Michele Kelemen: Israel appears to be turning its consideration to the south, to Rafah, the place a whole lot of hundreds of Palestinians are sheltered and so they’re already displaced by the combating. Is the U.S. laying out any crimson traces for the Israelis on that? Because I do know you’ve got heard loads of concern on the U.N. about that scenario.

Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield: Look, we have now been completely clear that beneath the present circumstances in Rafah, a navy operation now in that space can not proceed. And that may dramatically exacerbate the humanitarian emergency that we’re all in search of to alleviate proper now. Israel has an obligation to make sure that civilians, that their civilian inhabitants is secure and that they are safe and that they’ve entry to humanitarian help and to fundamental providers. And I believe you heard the secretary, [Antony Blinken,] make these statements clearly throughout his conferences and in his engagements with the press when he was there.

Israeli troopers inside an evacuated compound of the UNRWA in Gaza City, amid ongoing combating between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. This picture was taken throughout a managed tour by the Israeli military on Feb. 8 and subsequently edited beneath the supervision of the Israeli navy.

Jack Guez/AFP by way of Getty Images

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Jack Guez/AFP by way of Getty Images

Israeli troopers inside an evacuated compound of the UNRWA in Gaza City, amid ongoing combating between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. This picture was taken throughout a managed tour by the Israeli military on Feb. 8 and subsequently edited beneath the supervision of the Israeli navy.

Jack Guez/AFP by way of Getty Images

Kelemen: And you should be listening to loads of concern on the U.N. about that, proper?

Thomas-Greenfield: I’m listening to these considerations each single day. And what we have now tried to do is maintain our colleagues briefed on what is occurring on the bottom in order that we do not take actions within the Security Council which may jeopardize the very delicate negotiations which are going down that we hope will lead to an intensive pause within the combating, result in the hostages returning to their households, and permit for humanitarian help to get in to Palestinians who’re in determined want.

Kelemen: On the U.N. company that aids Palestinians, UNRWA, is the U.S. happy with the steps UNRWA is taking to research allegations that a few of its staffers truly took half within the Hamas assault on Oct. 7? And will the U.S. make it possible for UNRWA does not run out of cash?

Thomas-Greenfield: Look, the U.S. has at all times been a powerful supporter of humanitarian applications which are facilitated by UNRWA. And we have now, over the course of this previous few weeks, been terribly saddened and disenchanted that people who work for UNRWA participated within the heinous assault on the seventh of October. So for that motive, we paused our help.

But we’re persevering with to work with the U.N. of their effort to research. I do know that the U.N. workplace of investigations are engaged in an investigation proper now of those that have been concerned within the assault. And the secretary-general simply introduced a fee of three Nordic NGOs who might be working with former [French] Foreign Minister [Catherine] Colonna on addressing a number of the reforms and the neutrality of UNRWA shifting ahead.

And so we’ll proceed to assist these efforts, we’ll proceed to search for paths to offer wanted humanitarian help to the Palestinian individuals.

UNRWA is the one worldwide group with the capability, with the infrastructure to offer that help. So whether or not it is by funding from the U.S. or funding from others, we are going to work to make sure that help continues to movement in to the individuals of Gaza.

Kelemen: Others, although, have type of followed your lead in pausing aid, so I ponder in case you’re sending any message.

Thomas-Greenfield: I maintain listening to that others adopted our lead, however others noticed the scenario on the bottom that we noticed on the bottom and made their very own impartial selections about what they wished to do. But we all know that a variety of nations and organizations haven’t lower off funding but, and we obligated a big quantity of funding to UNRWA already for his or her 2024 program. So we’ll wait to see what the assessments present after which we’ll decide on tips on how to transfer ahead.

But let me be clear. We will discover a method to make sure that we proceed to offer humanitarian help to the Palestinian individuals.