On January 29, United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged countries that have just stopped funding the UN Palestine Refugee Assistance Agency (UNRWA) to reconsider this decision.
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| UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Western countries to continue funding UNRWA to help alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. (Source: The Times) |
In a statement, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stressed the importance of funding within UNRWA to maintain essential humanitarian operations.
According to Mr. Guterres, the UN is promptly addressing serious allegations that some UNRWA staff were involved in the October 7, 2023 attack by the Hamas movement on southern Israel, and affirmed that any UN staff involved in the above actions will be dealt with.
The UN chief made the statement after the US, UK, Italy, Australia, Canada, Finland, the Netherlands, Austria and France announced the suspension of funding to UNRWA after Tel Aviv accused some of the agency's staff of being involved in the Hamas attack.
According to UN figures, more than 2 million civilians in the Gaza Strip are dependent on aid provided by UNRWA, which has run relief points for more than a million people and provided food and medical care since the conflict began.
However, current funding is not sufficient to meet all requirements next February.
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