Not Only Gaza, UNRWA Is Forced To Stop Its Operations In The Middle East If Funding Is Not Continued

UNRWA staff at the Gaza refugee shelter. (Twitter/@UNRWA)

JAKARTA - The UN Aid and Work Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) said on Thursday it was threatened with discontinuing its operations in the late Middle East region of Fabruari, not just Gaza, if funding was not continued.

A number of large donors, including the United States, Germany and Britain, have suspended their funding, following Israeli accusations that staff of the agency were involved in the Hamas group's attack on their southern region on October 7.

"This body remains the largest aid organization in one of the world's most severe and complex humanitarian crises," UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said in a statement.

"If funding remains suspended, we will most likely be forced to stop our operations by the end of February, not only in Gaza but also throughout (Central East) territory," he continued.

Assistance groups and other UN agencies have urged donors to continue to support UNRWA, including the Head of the World Health Organization (WHO) Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who on Wednesday warned that suspending funds would lead to "disaster consequences" for Gazans.

A total of nearly 20 donors have so far suspended funding of around $440 million for UNRWA, raising questions about the fate of 5.9 million refugees served by the agency.

Israel has long called for the agency to be dissolved, arguing that its mission is outdated and fosters anti-Israeli sentiment, but this has been strongly denied by UNRWA.

On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated his call to end UNRWA's mandate and replace it with the UN mandate of another aid agency.

UNRWA, officially the United Nations Agency for Assistance and Works for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East, was founded in 1949 by the United Nations, after Israel's war and establishment as a Jewish nation, displaced 700,000 Palestinians from their homes.

They employ 30,000 Palestinians to serve the civilian and humanitarian needs of the 5.9 million refugees in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and in large camps in neighboring Arab countries.