The United States and at least 13 of its allies have withdrawn funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) following allegations from Israel that some of the agency’s employees were involved in the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7.
Although details remain scarce, Israel claims that 13 of the 13,000 UNRWA employees in Gaza were associated with the Hamas attack, participating in various ways, from involvement in hostage-taking to orders to set up an operations room, according to a summary of intelligence shared with CNN by an Israeli official.
UNRWA has dismissed several employees following the allegations and launched an investigation, promising that anyone involved in the October 7 attacks will be held accountable “including through criminal prosecution” if found truly responsible.
It is worth noting, however, that Israel has long-standing issues with UNRWA, accusing it of aiding Hamas and calling for its complete dismantling in the Gaza Strip.
Here’s what this could mean for the millions of Palestinians who depend on UNRWA for their livelihood:
UNRWA provides a range of aid and services to Palestinian refugees and their descendants. It is an important source of employment for refugees, who make up the majority of its more than 30,000 employees across the Middle East. The agency has representation offices in New York, Geneva, and Brussels. More than 13,000 of its employees are stationed in the Gaza Strip. Additionally, it is the only UN agency dedicated to a specific group of refugees in specific areas.
Last year, the agency had a budget of $1.6 billion, most of which was allocated to education and health, followed by other services such as infrastructure and improvement of refugee camps.
Since the beginning of the war in Gaza, UNRWA has launched an urgent appeal for an additional $481 million in funding for critical humanitarian needs.
UNRWA is the main humanitarian aid group in Gaza. About 2 million residents of Gaza depend on the agency for basic services, and 1 million people use UNRWA shelters for food and healthcare during the fighting in the enclave.
The agency has provided everything to the residents of Gaza, from food and healthcare to education and psychological support, for decades.
What could the suspension of funds provoke?
The UN has warned that current funding is insufficient and that UNRWA could run out of funds as early as February. At that point, not only will the population of Gaza be left without basic services, but also millions of other Palestinian refugees living in neighboring countries like Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon, who depend on the agency’s assistance.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres called on Sunday for countries that suspended funding to UNRWA to reconsider their decisions.
“I strongly appeal to the governments that suspended their contributions to at least ensure the continuity of UNRWA’s operations,” he said. “The terrible needs of the desperate populations they (UNRWA employees) serve must be met.”
The U.S. has long been the largest individual donor to UNRWA.
In 2018, the U.S., under President Donald Trump’s administration, ended all funding to the agency at Israel’s request, with the State Department at the time describing the agency as “irremediably flawed.” When Joe Biden became president in 2021, he reversed his predecessor’s decision and restored funding to UNRWA.
Source: CNN