The Peace Council in Gaza announced on Wednesday that there is “no place for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in the new Gaza,” arguing that the territory must move beyond long-term dependence on humanitarian aid.

In a statement posted on X, the council said it seeks to end what it described as the “continued reliance on aid,” adding that “the people of Gaza deserve more than that.”

The statement was accompanied by a video clip featuring remarks delivered on Tuesday by U.S. representative to the United Nations, Jeff Bartos. Addressing UN member states, Bartos said that the Security Council had supported, by an “overwhelming majority,” the establishment of the Peace Council and the National Committee for Gaza’s administration.

Bartos urged the international community to choose between “funding incitement, terrorism, and stagnation” or supporting the Peace Council, which he said offers Gaza’s population “a path toward peace, prosperity, and real, lasting change.”

UNRWA was established in 1949 under United Nations General Assembly Resolution 302 in the aftermath of the Palestinian Nakba. Since officially beginning operations in 1950, the agency has provided education, healthcare, social services, and humanitarian assistance to millions of Palestinian refugees.

The agency currently operates in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria, remaining one of the largest providers of humanitarian and social services for Palestinian refugees across the region.