UNRWA Calls Its Operations In Gaza Threatened To End In February If Funding Is Not Continued

JAKARTA - The United Nations Agency (UNBB) for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) said they were threatened with unable to continue operations in Gaza, Palestine after the end of February, if funding was not continued.

A number of countries including the United States, Germany and Britain have temporarily suspended their funding for the aid agency, following allegations that 12 UNRWA staff were involved in the Hamas militant group attack on southern Israel last October 7.

"If funding is not continued, UNRWA will not be able to continue its services and operations across the region, including in Gaza, after the end of February," a spokesman for the agency said.

It is known that the number of countries planning to temporarily suspend funding for UNRWA is increasing, with Japan and Austria becoming the latest countries, joining France, the United States, Germany, Canada, Italy, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Australia and Finland, which have announced the termination in advance.

Citing the BBC, UNRWA said they were "very desperate" and "humanitarian needs in Gaza continued to increase over time".

UNRWA Communications Director totaling Touma said in an interview with the BBC the allegations were "very serious" and UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini had taken "extraordinary measures" by immediately firing the staff.

"We are very desperate. This happens when the humanitarian needs in Gaza are increasing," he said, adding that he himself visited the region last week.

"People continue to evacuate. People are starving. Time continues to move quickly towards hunger," he said.

"We are doing everything we can to prevent hunger. But the current lack of funds, when at least the top 10 donors temporarily suspend funding, will have a very bad impact on the largest humanitarian operation in Gaza at this time," he explained.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was "horrified" by the allegations, but had appealed to donor countries to "guarantee the continuity of UNRWA's operations".

The President of the Palestinian Authority (PA) has asked countries that have suspended funding for the United Nations aid agency in Gaza to reconsider its decision.

"Such a position, if maintained, would punish millions of our people disproportionately for no apparent reason," PA President Mahmoud Abbas said in a statement on Sunday, according to WAFA.