Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar has ordered the Foreign Ministry to deny a visa extension to the head of a controversial United Nations agency, citing what he described as biased and hostile conduct against Israel.
“There is a limit to every trick,” Sa’ar posted on social media late Sunday.
“Following biased and hostile conduct against Israel, which distorted reality, presented false reports, slandered Israel and even violated the UN’s own rules regarding neutrality, and in accordance with the recommendation of professional bodies, I have instructed not to extend the residence visa of the head of the OCHA office in Israel, Jonathan Whittall.”
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is responsible for managing international humanitarian responses during crises and emergencies. Whittall, who divides his time between Jerusalem and Gaza, will see his visa expire in the coming weeks.
Sa’ar doubled down on the government’s stance, stating, “Whoever spreads lies about Israel – Israel will not work with him.”
In 2024, TPS-IL reported that the agency republished material from the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, whose present and former directors have been identified as Hamas operatives.
These reports, published on Relief Web — an information portal overseen by OCHA and widely used by the international aid community — accused Israel of severe crimes, including genocide, organ theft, using banned thermal weapons, burying Palestinians in mass graves, massacres at Gaza’s Shifa Hospital, deliberate use of civilians as human shields, and sexual assault of Palestinian women.
Euro-Med’s most recent report on Relief Web alleged that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation was “directly responsible for the escalating Israeli crimes against starved Palestinian civilians near aid distribution points in central and southern Gaza”.
It claimed the foundation’s operations “involve luring civilians to specific locations coordinated with the Israeli army, where they are subjected to killing, injury, and cruel and degrading treatment”.
In May, OCHA’s Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher claimed that 14,000 babies in Gaza would die within 48 hours — a claim he later retracted.
In July 2024, an analysis of OCHA’s data concluded that its reports frequently relied on unverified statistics from the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which supports Palestinian refugees and has faced criticism for the alleged involvement of its staff in Hamas’s 7 October attacks.
OCHA’s casualty figures have been widely used by global leaders, diplomats, media outlets and humanitarian organisations, and have shaped narratives about the conflict in Gaza.
In May 2024, OCHA halved its figure for the number of women and children killed in Gaza since October 7, but did not explain the sudden revision.
On 7 October, Hamas attacked Israeli communities near the Gaza border, killing at least 1,180 people and taking 252 Israelis and foreign nationals hostage. Of the 50 hostages still held, about 30 are believed to be dead.
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