Vital supplies of fuel and bread flour for Gaza risk running out, while schools, clinics and even rubbish collections in the West Bank and three countries across the Middle East could cease operating by the end of the month if funding cuts for UNRWA are not restored, the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees has warned.
Multiple countries, including the US and the UK, have paused funding for the agency in recent days after accusations that 12 of its staff took part in the 7 October attack by Hamas on Israel. On Thursday the agency warned that its entire operations in the Middle East, not only in Gaza, would most likely be forced to shut down by the end of February if funding remained suspended.
In Gaza, where the UN has warned of an imminent famine affecting 2 million people, UNRWA delivers flour to make bread, and fuel for desalination plants, and runs networks of warehouses and lorries for aid. UNWRA-run schools have transformed into shelters housing tens of thousands of people.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Vital supplies of fuel and bread flour for Gaza risk running out, while schools, clinics and even rubbish collections in the West Bank and three countries across the Middle East could cease operating by the end of the month if funding cuts for UNRWA are not restored, the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees has warned.
Multiple countries, including the US and the UK, have paused funding for the agency in recent days after accusations that 12 of its staff took part in the 7 October attack by Hamas on Israel.
In Gaza, where the UN has warned of an imminent famine affecting 2 million people, UNRWA delivers flour to make bread, and fuel for desalination plants, and runs networks of warehouses and lorries for aid.
“UNRWA is not just a UN agency that provides aid, it is part of our cause, a reminder for the world that millions of Palestinians are still refugees,” said Maha Husseini, a humanitarian with EuroMed for Human Rights who is sheltering in Rafah, in southern Gaza.
The UN secretary general, António Guterres, held a closed-door meeting with 35 donor nations earlier this week in an attempt to encourage those who have suspended funding to reconsider, while also seeking new financial support for UNRWA.
Joost Hiltermann, Middle East programme director for ICG, said that a sudden shock like the shutdown of UNRWA could spark protests in places like Lebanon and Jordan.
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