Diplomats at the United Nations Security Council said planned restrictions on the agency, UNRWA, would imperil Palestinians. Only the U.S. sides with Israel.

Israel orders UN Relief and Works Agency, the backbone of Palestinian humanitarian aid, to cease operations by Thursday.

Implementation of a ban on the U.N. Palestinian relief agency UNRWA in Israel - due to start on Thursday - will be disastrous, the UNRWA chief told the Security Council on Tuesday, as the United States accused it of being "irresponsible and dangerous.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called on the Israeli government to revoke its decision mandating the cessation of all operations by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in Jerusalem and the evacuation of its premises by the end of Thursday.

Israel, backed by Washington, will cease contact with the UN's Palestinian humanitarian relief agency UNRWA and any body acting on its behalf, its UN envoy said Tuesday, drawing condemnation from aid groups.