The Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, He called his organization's Palestinian Refugee Agency on Wednesday the “backbone” of aid to Gaza, after several countries suspended funding over Israeli claims that 12 UNRWA employees participated in the October 7 attacks.
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“Yesterday I met with donors to hear their concerns and outline the steps we are taking to address them (…) UNRWA is the backbone of the entire humanitarian response in Gaza,” Guterres told a UN committee on Palestinian rights.
Suspension of UNRWA funding 'dangerous' and would lead to the collapse of the humanitarian system in Gaza,” the heads of UN agencies said in a joint statement on Tuesday.
The dispute escalated on Tuesday after Israel accused UNRWA of allowing Hamas to use the agency's infrastructure in Gaza for military activities.
UNRWA said it has acted promptly on accusations by Israel that 12 of its employees were involved in Hamas attacks. United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Japan are among the countries that have suspended the delivery of money in light of these revelations.
(Keep reading: UN chief seeks to secure funding for Palestinian refugee agency.)
The UN agency has long been under scrutiny by Israel, which accuses it of systematically going against Israeli interests. Israel has vowed to end the agency's work in Gaza after the war and doubled down on Tuesday.when government spokesman Eylon Levy said UNRWA “has been fundamentally compromised.”
He accused it of “hiring large-scale terrorists, letting its infrastructure be used for Hamas' military activities, and relying on Hamas for aid distribution in the Gaza Strip.”
The UN's Gaza aid coordinator, Sigrid Kaag, declared on Tuesday that “there is no way that any organization can replace or substitute (the) tremendous capacity” of UNRWA, which offers assistance and accommodation to nearly 1.7 million people.
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After the October 7 attack against Israel, which caused the death of some 1,140 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official figures, its army launched a devastating air, land and sea offensive.
At least 26,900 people have died in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Ministry of Health of the Hamas-ruled territory.
AFP
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