COGAT official: 'UNRWA is a problem, doesn't offer solutions'

A delegation led by Major-General Ghassan Alian, Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), held a series of meeting with senior officials in the US government and military, stressing that UNRWA is a problem in Gaza and in general - and does not provide solutions.

According to Kan Reshet Bet, the trip was made with the goal of bringing the US and other countries to increase pressure on UNRWA and push for its dismantlement or replacement.

A Tuesday night briefing in Congress, attended by the Israeli delegation, discussed the need to find alternative international organizations to offer the services that UNRWA currently provides to Gazan refugees.

The briefing was confirmed in an Axios report, which said that on Tuesday, a group of Jewish House Democrats discussed possible alternatives to UNRWA for delivering aid to Gaza in a meeting with COGAT.

Axios said that "roughly eight to ten Jewish Democrats" met with met with Col. Elad Goren, a top COGAT official. It noted that Goren offered "about half a dozen" potential alternatives to UNRWA, including UNICEF and the UN World Food Program.

One member, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told the site, "The point he was trying to make was ... we want there to be humanitarian aid, but UNRWA is a problem. There need to be alternatives, there are alternatives already, and those are the alternatives that should be used."

One lawmaker told Axios that Goren "disputed the level of hunger and the availability of the food — that there are still open air markets that are operating, that the Israelis are willing to send even more aid."

Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.), who was present at the meeting, said Goren also stressed that Israel is "taking great pains to make sure that it's doing what it can to figure out who is involved with Hamas and who is truly a civilian."