WASHINGTON: Countries including the US and the UK have halted funding to the UN agency that provides aid to Palestine. Funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA) has been stopped. Some other countries have also stopped funding the agency. There are fears that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza will worsen as funding for the agency, which mainly provides aid to Palestine, stops.
Countries like Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Finland, Australia and Canada have also stopped funding. UNRWA is investigating whether the agency’s staff were involved in the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas. It was during this time that the countries took the decision to stop the fund.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Filippi Lazzarini said the decision to stop funding the agency was shocking. He said the decision would create a major crisis for the agency’s humanitarian operations in the Gaza Strip.
After the alleged involvement of some of the agency’s employees in the October 7 attack, they were suspended from their jobs. Philip Lazzarini said that an investigation has been started to bring out the truth. However, not satisfied with this explanation, countries have stopped aid to the agency. At the same time, harsh criticism is also being raised against the action of stopping the aid.
UNRWA is providing aid to the entire population of Gaza. Jonan Sofi, a lawyer and former director of the agency, said it was unacceptable that the mistakes of a few employees could cause the entire population of Gaza to suffer.