UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on donor states to "guarantee the continuity" of the operations of the UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA). The plea came after multiple countries paused their funding for the organization following Israeli allegations that some of the agency's staffers were involved in the terror attacks on Israel carried out by Hamas militants on October 7.
"While I understand their concerns — I was myself horrified by these accusations — I strongly appeal to the governments that have suspended their contributions to, at least, guarantee the continuity of UNRWA's operations," Guterres said in a statement.
He also vowed that "any UN employee involved in acts of terror will be held accountable, including through criminal prosecution."
France became the latest country to suspend funding for the embattled agency, with its foreign ministry saying it "will decide when the time comes of the action to take together with the United Nations and the main donors,"
Germany, Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Finland suspended their funding to the aid agency on Saturday.
That followed a similar move by the United States, Australia and Canada.
"These decisions threaten our ongoing humanitarian work across the region including and especially in the Gaza Strip," the organization's head, Philippe Lazzarini, said in a statement on Saturday.
He added that 2 million people in Gaza depend on aid from the UNRWA and that this operation is now "collapsing."
The UN agency employs around 13,000 people in the besieged territory and has been the main source of humanitarian aid for Gaza's population.
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"While I understand their concerns — I was myself horrified by these accusations — I strongly appeal to the governments that have suspended their contributions to, at least, guarantee the continuity of UNRWA's operations," Guterres said in a statement.
He also vowed that "any UN employee involved in acts of terror will be held accountable, including through criminal prosecution."
France became the latest country to suspend funding for the embattled agency, with its foreign ministry saying it "will decide when the time comes of the action to take together with the United Nations and the main donors,"
Germany, Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Finland suspended their funding to the aid agency on Saturday.
That followed a similar move by the United States, Australia and Canada.
"These decisions threaten our ongoing humanitarian work across the region including and especially in the Gaza Strip," the organization's head, Philippe Lazzarini, said in a statement on Saturday.
He added that 2 million people in Gaza depend on aid from the UNRWA and that this operation is now "collapsing."
The UN agency employs around 13,000 people in the besieged territory and has been the main source of humanitarian aid for Gaza's population.
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#UNRWA #Gaza #isreal
