On Wednesday, UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) officials in Jerusalem summoned Matthias Schmale, the Agency's Operations Director in Gaza, for consultations after his comments on last month’s fighting angered Palestinians, who claimed they were biased towards Israel. Protests erupted in the Palestinian territories against Schmale’s remarks made during an interview with Israel's Channel 12 on May 22, where he stated that he did not dispute Israel's claim that its airstrikes were "precise."
Fighting escalated between Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) on May 10, lasting for 11 days, during which over 250 Palestinians were killed in hundreds of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza. Palestinian factions in the region launched more than four thousand rockets, most of which were intercepted, resulting in the deaths of 13 individuals in Israel. Hamas described Schmale as becoming a “spokesperson for the occupation army” following his remarks.
Hamas stated in a press release, "Mr. Schmale justified the targeting of civilians and their homes, downplayed the scale of losses, and praised the occupation army’s capability and precision in hitting its targets." Schmale later apologized for his comments regarding the intensity of the airstrikes, saying, "The precision was present, but there were unacceptable and intolerable losses of civilian lives."
Sami Mushasha, spokesperson for UNRWA in Jerusalem, stated on Wednesday that Matthias Schmale and his deputy were summoned to the headquarters in Jerusalem for consultations regarding the latest developments in Gaza. Another official confirmed that Leni Stenithe, UNRWA's Deputy Commissioner-General, would temporarily lead the Gaza team.
UNRWA provides educational, health, and relief services to approximately 5.7 million Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. Mushasha mentioned in a statement, "In the coming weeks, UNRWA will review emergency response mechanisms in Gaza and draw lessons and conclusions aimed at improving UNRWA's performance and response during crises and emergency periods."
In a statement released on May 25, Schmale expressed in his apology, "There is no justification whatsoever for killing civilians... military precision and advancement are never justifications for war." The Israeli Foreign Ministry stated that its forces acted "in accordance with international law to protect civilians from Hamas's indiscriminate rocket fire."
