Fourteen countries and the EU have now suspended funding or announced that funding plans are in review for the UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East). The moves follow allegations from Israel that 13 employees of UNRWA were involved in the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7, evidence of which has been reportedly released to the U.S. government but has not been seen by anyone else—including the United Nations itself. The allegations also occurred, coincidentally, on the Jan. 26, same day that the International Court of Justice released its ruling that Israel was in danger of committing genocide in Gaza.
The UNRWA is the largest humanitarian aid organization in Gaza, and almost the entire population now depends on it for basic essentials every day. It is reported that if funding dries up it will not be able to continue delivering aid into February.
UN Secretary General António Guterres said on Jan. 28, in response to the allegations, that “any UN employee involved in acts of terror will be held accountable,” and that the UN is “ready to cooperate with a competent authority able to prosecute the individuals in line with the Secretariat’s normal procedures for such cooperation.”
