UNRWA said in a statement on Tuesday that Israeli forces had confiscated staff devices and forced them out of their headquarters in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.

“This is an unprecedented attack not only against UNRWA and its premises. It constitutes a serious violation of international law and the privileges and immunities of the United Nations,” it said.

Local sources reported that an Israeli army group, accompanied by bulldozers, stormed the agency’s compound after sealing off the surrounding streets and intensifying its military presence in the area, and proceeded to demolish structures inside the compound, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Israeli lawmakers and member of the government were also present, according to UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini, who said the attack came “in the wake of other steps taken by Israeli authorities to erase the Palestine Refugee identity”.

He also warned that “what happens today to UNRWA will happen tomorrow to any other international organization or diplomatic mission” anywhere in the world, Al Jazeera reported.

The Israeli regime has repeatedly attacked UNRWA for what it terms pro-Palestinian leanings and accused the body of ties to Hamas, without providing evidence, which the UN agency has vehemently denied.

Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the demolition was following through on a new law that banned the organization.

Israel has faced global condemnation after a ban on dozens of international aid organizations working to provide life-saving assistance to Palestinians in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip came into effect weeks ago.

Israel has revoked the operating licenses of 37 aid groups, including Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, and the Norwegian Refugee Council, for failing to comply with new government regulations.

The new rules require international NGOs working in Gaza and the occupied West Bank to provide detailed information on staff members, as well as their funding and operations.