The UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) warned today that it will be forced to suspend its operations in Gaza and throughout the Middle East if funding to the organization is not resumed, after 16 donor countries froze their financial contributions.
“If financing remains suspended, most likely “is that we will be forced to close our operations at the end of February, not only in Gaza but also in the entire region,” UNRWA Commissioner General said in a statement, Philippe Lazzarini, which called on countries to resume financial support to the agency.
MORE INFORMATION | Blinken urges UNRWA to immediately investigate its personnel linked to Hamas
The note regretted that 16 donor countries have suspended financing to the UNRWA after Israeli authorities charged a dozen members of the UN agency of participating in the attacks by the Islamist group Hamas against Israel on October 7th.
Following these accusations, for which the Israeli Government has not provided written evidence to the UN, UNRWA dismissed the accused members and launched an investigation that could produce results within two to three weeks.
Several countries, including the US, Japan, Germany and France, They have suspended financing worth about $440 million, lamented the United Nations agency, which recalled “the colossal humanitarian needs of more than 2 million people in Gaza.”
CHECK HERE | WHO says UNRWA debate is a “distraction” from tragedy in Gaza
“As the war in Gaza continues unabated and as the International Court of Justice calls for more humanitarian assistance, it is time to strengthen, not weaken, UNRWA. “The Agency remains the largest aid organization in one of the most serious and complex humanitarian crises in the world,” Lazzarini insisted.
UNRWA recalled that tens of thousands of people have been forced to move further south of the Strip in the last week, adding to the more than 1.4 million people who are overcrowded in Rafah, on the border with Egypt, where the majority live in “improvised structures” or directly outdoors.
Across the Palestinian enclave, almost two million people depend on UNRWA for their livelihoods, as the agency manages overflowing shelters, provides food assistance and primary health care, among others.
In addition to the Gaza Strip, the organization provides assistance to the millions of Palestinian refugees in the West Bank (including East Jerusalem), Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
