NAJIB JOBAIN and WAFAA SHURAFA
Updated Sat, January 27, 2024 a
Palestinians look at their neighbour's damaged house following an Israeli strike in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The head of the main U.N. aid agency in the war-battered Gaza Strip warned late Saturday that its work is collapsing after nine countries decided to suspend funding over allegations that several agency employees participated in the deadly Hamas attack on Israel four months ago.
Philippe Lazzarini, head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, said he was shocked such decisions were taken as “famine looms” in the Israel-Hamas war. “Palestinians in Gaza did not need this additional collective punishment,” he wrote on X. “This stains all of us.”
His warning came a day after he announced he had fired and was investigating several agency employees over allegations that they participated in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel that sparked the war. The United States, which said 12 agency employees were under investigation, immediately suspended funding, followed by several other countries, including Britain, Germany and Italy.
The agency, with its 13,000 employees in Gaza, most of them Palestinians, is the main organization aiding Gaza’s population amid the humanitarian disaster. More than 2 million of the territory's 2.3 million people depend on it for “sheer survival,” including food and shelter, Lazzarini said, warning this lifeline can “collapse any time now.”
The Israel-Hamas war has killed more than 26,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, destroyed vast swaths of Gaza and displaced nearly 85% of the territory’s people. The Hamas attack in southern Israel killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and about 250 hostages were taken.
Meanwhile, two senior Biden administration officials said U.S. negotiators were making progress on a potential agreement under which Israel would pause military operations against Hamas for two months in exchange for the release of more than 100 hostages.
The officials, who requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive negotiations, said that emerging terms of the yet-to-be sealed deal would play out over two phases, with the remaining women, elderly and wounded hostages to be released by Hamas in a first 30-day phase. The emerging deal also calls for Israel to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza.
CIA director Bill Burns is expected to discuss the contours of the emerging agreement when he meets Sunday in France with David Barnea, the head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel for talks centered on the hostage negotiations.
Despite the apparent progress, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated in a televised news conference late Saturday that the war would continue until “complete victory,” including crushing Hamas.
He also doubled down on his previous criticism of Qatar, again accusing it of hosting Hamas leaders and funding the group. “If they position themselves as a mediator, so please, let them prove it and bring back the hostages, and in the meantime deliver the medicines to them,” he said.
Netanyahu also pushed back after the International Court of Justice ruled Friday that Israel must do its utmost to limit death and destruction in its Gaza offensive, declaring that “we decide and act according to what is required for our security.”
Among the first deaths reported since the ruling, three Palestinians were killed in an airstrike that Israel said targeted a Hamas commander.
Israel's military is under increasing scrutiny now that the top United Nations court has asked Israel for a compliance report in a month. The court's binding ruling stopped short of ordering a cease-fire, but its orders were in part a rebuke of Israel's conduct in its nearly 4-month war against Gaza's Hamas rulers.
At least 174 Palestinians were killed over the past day, the Health Ministry in Gaza said. It does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its tolls, but has said about two-thirds are women and children.
Israel holds Hamas responsible for civilian casualties, saying the militants embed themselves in the local population. Israel says its air and ground offensive in Gaza has killed more than 9,000 militants.
Israel's military said it had conducted several “targeted raids on terror targets” in the southern city of Khan Younis in addition to the airstrike in nearby Rafah targeting a Hamas commander.
Bilal al-Siksik said his wife, a son and a daughter were killed in the Rafah strike, which came as they slept. He said the U.N. court ruling meant little since it did not stop the war.
“No one can speak in front of them (Israel). America with all its greatness and strength can do nothing," he said, standing beside the rubble and twisted metal of his home.
More than 1 million people have crammed into Rafah and the surrounding areas after Israel ordered civilians to seek refuge there. Designated evacuation areas have repeatedly come under airstrikes, with Israel saying it would go after militants as needed.
In Muwasi, a narrow coastal strip once designated as a safe zone but struck in recent days, displaced Palestinians tiptoed on sandaled feet through garbage-lined puddles in damp and chilly weather. Walls of sheets and tarps billowed in the wind. A mother wept after rain leaked in and soaked the blankets.
“This is our life. We have nothing and we left (our homes) with nothing,” said Bassam Bolbol, whose family ended up in Muwasi after leaving Khan Younis and finding no shelter in Rafah.
Frustration with the uncertainty grows. As thousands of Gazans fled Khan Younis toward Muwasi, Israel shared video showing a crowd appearing to call for bringing down Hamas.
The case brought by South Africa to the U.N. court alleged Israel is committing genocide against Gaza's people, which Israel vehemently denies. A final ruling is expected to take years.
The court ordered Israel to urgently get aid to Gaza, where the U.N. has said aid entering the territory remains well below the daily average of 500 trucks before the war. The U.N. also says access to central and northern Gaza has been decreasing because of "excessive delays" at checkpoints and heightened military activity.
The World Health Organization and the medical charity MSF issued urgent warnings about the largest health facility in Khan Younis, Nasser Hospital, saying remaining staff could barely function with supplies running out and intense fighting nearby.
WHO footage showed people in the crowded facility being treated on blood-smeared floors as frantic loved ones shouted and jostled. Cats scavenged on a mound of medical waste.
“These are the only painkillers left we have. If you want to count them, they are only for maybe five or four patients,” Dr. Muhammad Harara said.
The United States, Israel’s closest ally, has increasingly called for restraint and for more humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza while supporting the offensive.
In Israel, protesters gathered in Tel Aviv and outside Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem to call for new elections, frustrated with the government's failure to bring all hostages home. Israel also was marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day, alongside other countries around the world.
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Shurafa reported from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip. Aamer Madhani, Matthew Lee and Zeke Miller in Washington, Julia Frankel in Jerusalem and Elena Becatoros in Athens, Greece, contributed.
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Gaza humanitarian aid 'at risk' as Western countries pause UN agency funding
CBC
Sun, January 28, 2024
Palestinians carry bags of flour they grabbed from an aid truck near an Israeli checkpoint, as Gaza residents face crisis levels of hunger amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Gaza City on Saturday. (Hossam Azam/Reuters - image credit)
A pause in funding to a critical United Nations agency is raising concerns that humanitarian aid in Gaza is at further risk.
Canada and the U.S. paused funding to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) Friday after Israeli authorities claimed several of the agency's staff members were involved in the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attacks on Israel.
Seven other countries — the United Kingdom, Australia, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Finland — have taken similar action.
The UNRWA is sheltering most of Gaza's population, with members employed as teachers, nurses, janitors and other social support workers looking after residents who have been displaced by Israeli airstrikes. The organization also plays a key logistical role with other aid agencies, identifying need and getting resources where they need to go.
"It's basically a municipal government. They take care of many, many things, from hospitals, medical care, schooling, sanitation, that sort of thing," said Michael Bociurkiw, a Canadian global affairs analyst and former UNICEF spokesperson for the West Bank and Gaza.
"It is inconceivable that any other aid agency on the planet could currently do what UNRWA is doing in Gaza," said Rex Brynen, chair of the Middle East Studies program at McGill University in Montreal. He has worked in war zones and acted as a consultant to the Canadian International Development Agency, the World Bank and United Nations agencies, among others.
"UNRWA is desperately short of resources right now. Gaza is desperately short of resources. And any funding paused by anyone puts the humanitarian relief efforts at risk."
He said Western leaders recognize how critical the agency is, but are in a place where they need to act on the "serious" allegations for political and operational reasons.
"But also the reality is that suspending funding for the single most important humanitarian aid agency — which everyone agrees has been doing an outstanding job of humanitarian assistance in a very difficult environment — is problematic," Brynen said.
Damaged houses lie in ruin in Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Hamas, as seen from Israel Wednesday. (Amir Cohen/Reuters)
UNRWA pleads for funding
The UNRWA said Friday it fired the employees suspected of involvement and opened an investigation, vowing any employee "involved in acts of terror" would be held accountable, including through criminal prosecution.
Bociurkiw told CBC News on Sunday that it's difficult to monitor everyone in an organization that has tens of thousands of employees, but these allegations are so serious that the aid agency must do more to restore the faith of donor countries — such as release details of the investigation and call in an independent investigator, "maybe a former UN secretary general on that level to get to the bottom of this."
On Saturday, the agency's commissioner-general, Philippe Lazzarini, urged countries to reinstate their funding "before UNRWA is forced to suspend its humanitarian response. "The lives of people in Gaza depend on this support and so does regional stability," he said in a statement.
Lazzarini said it is "shocking" to see funds suspended in reaction to allegations against a small group of staff after UNRWA terminated their contracts and tasked the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services to carry out an independent investigation.
"UNRWA is the primary humanitarian agency in Gaza, with over two million people depending on it for their sheer survival. Many are hungry as the clock is ticking towards a looming famine," he said in the statement.
The International Court of Justice ruled Friday that Israel must take immediate measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance in the Gaza Strip. Lazzarini said that can only be accomplished through co-operation with international partners — and with UNRWA, as the largest humanitarian actor.
Hussein al-Sheikh, secretary-general of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said cutting support to the agency brings major political and relief risks. "We call on countries that announced the cessation of their support for UNRWA to immediately reverse their decision," he said on X.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry criticized what it described as an Israeli campaign against UNRWA, and Hamas condemned the termination of employee contracts "based on information derived from the Zionist enemy."
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz encouraged more donor suspensions and said UNRWA should be replaced once fighting in the enclave dies down, accusing it of ties to Islamist militants in Gaza.
"In Gaza's rebuilding, @UNRWA must be replaced with agencies dedicated to genuine peace and development," he said on X.
Deputy UN spokesperson Farhan Haq, asked about Katz's remarks, said, "We are not responding to rhetoric. UNRWA overall had had a strong record, which we have repeatedly underscored."
Commissioner General of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, addresses the assembly during the Global Refugee Forum, in Geneva, Switzerland in December. December 13, 2023. via REUTERS
UNRWA commissioner-general Philippe Lazzarini addresses the assembly during the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva in December. (Jean-Guy Python/Reuters)
What could happen if funds run dry?
The agency has more than 30,000 employees overall, mostly Palestinian refugees, and is under strain with concurrent conflicts in Gaza, Syria and Lebanon.
UNRWA says at least 152 of its employees have been killed since Oct. 7, as of Jan. 22. The agency says one of its shelters in Khan Younis has been struck repeatedly by Israeli missiles, the latest hit on Jan. 24, which killed at least 13 people.
Lazzarini said 3,000 core staff out of 13,000 in Gaza continue to work, "giving their communities a lifeline which can collapse anytime now due to lack of funding."
Brynen suggested the collapse of UNRWA could lead to hundreds of thousands of desperate Palestinians crashing the Egyptian border, which Egypt has said could end its peace treaty with Israel.
Western countries are likely hoping the UNRWA makes a significant move to quell their concerns so they can reinstate funding, he said.
"From the point of view of American policy, where they're already getting hammered for the massive civilian casualties in Gaza, they realize full well if it wasn't for UNRWA, this situation would be orders of magnitude worse — not only from a humanitarian point of view, but from, frankly, a political point of view as well," Brynen said.
Brynen said organizations such as the UN World Food Program, UNICEF, Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders and potentially the World Health Organization could step up their relief response to mitigate the effects of a funding pause in the short term, but no agency has the staff or distribution network to replace UNRWA.
What is UNRWA?
Officially called the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, UNRWA was established in 1949 following the war surrounding Israel's creation.
The agency provides services for Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, as well as Gaza.
A Palestinian man holds a flour bag as others wait to receive theirs from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) during a temporary truce between Hamas and Israel, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, November 29, 2023. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
A Palestinian man holds a bag of flour as others wait to receive theirs from UNRWA during a temporary truce between Hamas and Israel, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Nov. 29, 2023. (Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters )
Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have accused the agency of fuelling anti-Israeli sentiment, which it denies.
UNRWA has provided aid and used its facilities to shelter people fleeing bombardment and a ground offensive launched by Israel in Gaza following the Oct. 7 attacks, during which about 1,200 people were killed and about 250 taken hostage.
Israel's offensive has laid waste to much of the densely populated Gaza Strip and killed more than 26,000 Palestinians, according to health officials in the territory.
US pauses funding to UN agency for Palestinians after claims staffers were involved in Hamas attack
Associated Press
Sat, January 27, 2024
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees fired a number of its staffers in Gaza suspected of taking part in the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas and other militants on southern Israel, its director said Friday, prompting the United States — the agency's biggest donor — to temporarily halt its funding.
The agency, known by its acronym UNRWA, has been the main agency providing aid for Gaza’s population amid the humanitarian disaster caused by Israel’s offensive against Hamas in Gaza triggered by the Oct. 7 attack. UNRWA officials did not comment on the impact that the U.S. halt in funding would have on its operations.
UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said it terminated contracts with “several” employees and ordered an investigation after Israel provided information alleging they played a role in the attack. The U.S. State Department said there were allegations against 12 employees. UNRWA has 13,000 staffers in Gaza, almost all of them Palestinians, ranging from teachers in schools that the agency runs to doctors, medical staff and aid workers.
In a statement, Lazzarini called the allegations “shocking” and said any employee “involved in acts of terror will be held accountable, including through criminal prosecution.”
He did not elaborate on what the staffers’ alleged role was in the attacks. In the unprecedented surprise attack, Hamas fighters broke through the security fence surrounding Gaza and stormed nearby Israeli communities, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping some 250. Other militants joined the rampage.
“UNRWA reiterates its condemnation in the strongest possible terms of the abhorrent attacks of 7 October” and calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all Israeli hostages, Lazzarini said.
Since the war’s start, Israel’s assault has killed more than 26,000 Palestinians, most women and children, and wounded more than 64,400 others, Gaza’s Health Ministry said Friday. The ministry does not differentiate between combatants and civilians in its death toll. More than 150 UNWRA employees are among those killed — the highest toll the world body has suffered in a conflict — and a number of U.N. shelters have been hit in the bombardment.
More than 1.7 million of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been driven from their homes by the war — with hundreds of thousands of them crowded into schools and other shelters run by UNRWA.
Israel’s near-complete seal on Gaza has left almost the entire population reliant on a trickle of international aid able to enter the territory each day. U.N. officials say about a quarter of the population now faces starvation.
The U.S. State Department said it was “extremely troubled” by the allegations against the UNRWA staffers and has temporarily paused additional funding for the agency. The U.S. is the biggest donor to the agency, providing it with $340 million in 2022 and several hundred million in 2023.
Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson of U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, said an “urgent and comprehensive” independent review of the agency would be conducted.
UNRWA was created to care for millions of Palestinians across the Middle East whose families fled or were forced from properties inside what is now Israel during the war surrounding Israel’s creation in 1948. Israel rejects a return of the refugees to their former lands.
Israeli officials and their allies — including in the U.S. Congress — frequently allege that UNRWA allows anti-Israeli incitement to be taught in its hundreds of schools and that some of its staff collaborate with Hamas. The Trump administration suspended funding to the agency in 2018, but President Joe Biden restored it.
The agency’s supporters say the allegations aim to diminish the long-festering refugee issue. Last week, Lazzarini said he would appoint an independent entity to look into the claims — both “what is true or untrue” and “what is politically motivated.” He also said the accusations were hurting the agency’s already stretched operations.
Thousands of Palestinians fled the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis on Friday as fighting between Hamas militants and Israeli forces intensified. Families were seen traveling on foot down roads, carrying possessions as smoke filed the skies above them.
Also Friday, the Israeli military ordered residents of three Khan Younis neighborhoods and the refugee camp in the city to evacuate to a coastal area. The military said its troops were engaging in close urban combat with Hamas fighters around the city.
The Khan Younis camp, like others in Gaza, was initially settled by Palestinians who fled or were driven from their homes during the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation and has since been built up into an urbanized district. The leader of Hamas in Gaza, Yehya Sinwar, and the commander of the group’s military wing, Mohammed Deif, both grew up in the Khan Younis refugee camp.
In central Gaza, the other main focus of Israel's offensive currently, Israeli airstrikes on the Nuseirat urban refugee camp overnight killed at least 15 people, including a 5-month-old baby, said a journalist with The Associated Press at the hospital where the casualties were taken.
The intense fighting came as the United Nations’ top court ordered Israel to do all it can to prevent death, destruction and any acts of genocide in Gaza. But the International Court of Justice stopped short Friday of ordering it to end the military offensive. South Africa has accused Israel of genocide in its offensive, and the court dismissed a request by Israel, which rejects the accusation, that the case be thrown out.
Aid groups have struggled to bring food, medicines and other supplies to northern Gaza, where Israel’s ground invasion first targeted and where Israel says it now largely has control.
Uday Samir, a 23-year old Gaza City native, said many of the basic foods such as flour, lentils and rice are now impossible to find across the city.
“Now, what is available is animal feed,” said Samir. “We grind it and bake it.”
All supplies enter Gaza in the south, either through the Egyptian-controlled Rafah border crossing or Israel’s Kerem Shalom crossing. Aid groups say fighting and Israeli restrictions have made deliveries to the north difficult. When convoys do travel north, supplies are often snatched by hungry Palestinian before the trucks reach their destination.
UK suspends funding to UN agency in Gaza as staff sacked over Hamas attack allegations
Kate Devlin
Sat, January 27, 2024
The UK has suspended funding for the UN agency providing aid to Palestinian refugees after allegations that staff members were involved in Hamas’s deadly 7 October attack on Israel.
Another four countries – the US, Australia, Italy and Canada – have also paused donations.
More than 1,200 people were killed when Hamas stormed Israeli communities.
The bloodshed sparked the current war in Gaza, in which more than 25,000 Palestinians have been killed, after Israel vowed to destroy Hamas.
The Foreign Office said in a statement the UK was “appalled” by allegations that UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) staff were involved in the 7 October attack “a heinous act of terrorism” that the UK government has repeatedly condemned.
“The UK is temporarily pausing any future funding of UNRWA whilst we review these concerning allegations,” the statement said.
“We remain committed to getting humanitarian aid to the people in Gaza who desperately need it.”
Employees of UNRWA (AFP via Getty)
The relief agency has played a key role in providing aid to the population of the besieged enclave amid a mounting humanitarian disaster.
Earlier this week the foreign secretary, Lord Cameron, called for more provisions to be allowed to enter Gaza during a visit to the region.
Sarah Champion, chair of the Commons International Development select committee, described the development as “very concerning”, saying that “in many ways, UNWRA effectively acts as the local authority, so the impact on civilians will be immense.”
But former immigration minister Robert Jenrick said he was “pleased” Britain had agreed to pause support for UNRWA, adding that “the UK has been too blasé about who we have funded and for what purpose. That needs to end now.”
The current crisis erupted on Friday when UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said it had terminated contracts with “several” employees and ordered an investigation after Israel provided information alleging they played a role in the assault.
The US, the agency’s biggest donor, said allegations had been made against 12 employees.
Palestinian employees of UNWRA protest at job cuts in 2018 (AFP via Getty)
UNRWA has around 13,000 staff in Gaza, almost all of them Palestinians. They range from teachers, in schools run by the agency, to doctors and other medical staff.
Israeli officials have frequently accused UNRWA of allowing anti-Israeli incitement. The Trump administration suspended funding to the agency in 2018, but it was restored by President Biden.
In its 7 October attack, Hamas broke through the security fence surrounding Gaza and stormed nearby Israeli communities, kidnapping some 250 people.
While some of the hostages have been released as part of transfer swaps with Israel, around 100 are still being held.
Another four countries – the US, Australia, Italy and Canada – have also paused donations.
More than 1,200 people were killed when Hamas stormed Israeli communities.
The bloodshed sparked the current war in Gaza, in which more than 25,000 Palestinians have been killed, after Israel vowed to destroy Hamas.
The Foreign Office said in a statement the UK was “appalled” by allegations that UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) staff were involved in the 7 October attack “a heinous act of terrorism” that the UK government has repeatedly condemned.
“The UK is temporarily pausing any future funding of UNRWA whilst we review these concerning allegations,” the statement said.
“We remain committed to getting humanitarian aid to the people in Gaza who desperately need it.”
Employees of UNRWA (AFP via Getty)
The relief agency has played a key role in providing aid to the population of the besieged enclave amid a mounting humanitarian disaster.
Earlier this week the foreign secretary, Lord Cameron, called for more provisions to be allowed to enter Gaza during a visit to the region.
Sarah Champion, chair of the Commons International Development select committee, described the development as “very concerning”, saying that “in many ways, UNWRA effectively acts as the local authority, so the impact on civilians will be immense.”
But former immigration minister Robert Jenrick said he was “pleased” Britain had agreed to pause support for UNRWA, adding that “the UK has been too blasé about who we have funded and for what purpose. That needs to end now.”
The current crisis erupted on Friday when UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said it had terminated contracts with “several” employees and ordered an investigation after Israel provided information alleging they played a role in the assault.
The US, the agency’s biggest donor, said allegations had been made against 12 employees.
Palestinian employees of UNWRA protest at job cuts in 2018 (AFP via Getty)
UNRWA has around 13,000 staff in Gaza, almost all of them Palestinians. They range from teachers, in schools run by the agency, to doctors and other medical staff.
Israeli officials have frequently accused UNRWA of allowing anti-Israeli incitement. The Trump administration suspended funding to the agency in 2018, but it was restored by President Biden.
In its 7 October attack, Hamas broke through the security fence surrounding Gaza and stormed nearby Israeli communities, kidnapping some 250 people.
While some of the hostages have been released as part of transfer swaps with Israel, around 100 are still being held.
Britain suspends funding for UN aid agency implicated in Oct 7 attack
Timothy Sigsworth
Sat, January 27, 2024
UNRWA workers in a shelter for displaced Palestinians in Khan Yunis - MAHMUD HAMS/AFP
Britain has suspended its funding for the United Nations aid agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) after 12 of its employees were accused of taking part in the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.
The Foreign Office said it was “appalled” by the claims as it followed the United States, Canada, Australia and Italy in putting its funding on hold.
Israel has vowed to ban the UNRWA from operating in Gaza once the war is over after the agency sacked the workers on Friday.
The head of the UN relief agency has called on countries that have suspended funding to reconsider their “shocking” decision.
Philippe Lazzarini said UNRWA is depended upon by more than two million people for their survival.
Foreign Office documents show Britain has given UNRWA £27 million in aid since October 2022.
A memorandum of understanding between the Foreign Office and UNRWA shows Britain planned to hand it a further £2 million on April 15 and £9 million on October 1 this year.
But the Foreign Office has now said it is “temporarily pausing any future funding of UNRWA whilst we review these concerning allegations”.
“We remain committed to getting humanitarian aid to the people in Gaza who desperately need it,” it added.
Tents for displaced Palestinians at a UNRWA camp in Khan Younis - BLOOMBERG
Robert Jenrick, the former cabinet minister, who had accused ministers of having been “too blasé about who we have funded and for what purpose”, said: “I’m pleased the UK has followed the US in pausing support to UNRWA whilst these allegations are investigated.
“It’s an organisation whose leadership has fallen into a moral morass of complicity with Hamas, turning a blind eye to the terrorists,” he told The Telegraph.
“We need a new mechanism to support the people of Gaza that can drive economic development, demilitarisation and deradicalisation, once Hamas have been eradicated.”
In a statement on Saturday, UNRWA boss Mr Lazzarini said: “It is shocking to see a suspension of funds to the agency in reaction to allegations against a small group of staff, especially given the immediate action that UNRWA took by terminating their contracts and asking for a transparent independent investigation.
“The United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), the highest investigative authority in the UN system, has already been seized of this very serious matter.”
He added: “It would be immensely irresponsible to sanction an Agency and an entire community it serves because of allegations of criminal acts against some individuals, especially at a time of war, displacement and political crises in the region.”
The US state department said on Friday that it had paused its funding “while we review these allegations and the steps the United Nations is taking to address them”.
It said allegations had been made against 12 UNRWA employees.
Germany announced on Saturday that it was suspending funding to the agency.
Ahmed Hussen, Canada’s aid minister, said the country was “deeply troubled by the allegations relating to some UNRWA employees”.
Deeply concerned
Penny Wong, the foreign minister of Australia, said she was “deeply concerned” by the allegations and would “temporarily pause disbursement of recently announced funding” while the allegations are investigated.
Italy has also suspended its funding, with Antonio Tajan, the foreign minister, saying on Saturday morning: “Allied countries have recently made the same decision.”
Israel Katz, Israel’s foreign minister, said the government planned to stop the UNRWA ever operating in Gaza again.
“Under my leadership, the foreign ministry aims to promote a policy ensuring that UNRWA will not be a part of the day after, addressing other contributing factors,” he said.
“We will work to garner bipartisan support in the US, the European Union, and other nations globally for this policy aimed at halting UNRWA’s activities in Gaza.”
Hamas dismissed Israel’s allegations in a statement and urged the UN and other countries to not “cave in to the threats and blackmail”.
The UNRWA said on Friday that Israel had handed over intelligence alleging that a number of its workers were involved in October 7.
Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary-general, had been briefed about the allegations, his spokesperson said.
“The Secretary-General is horrified by this news,” said Stephane Dujarric, adding that “an urgent and comprehensive independent review of UNRWA will be conducted”.
The UN Watch, a Geneva-based NGO that scrutinises the work of the UN, earlier this month raised the alarm about alleged Hamas sympathies among multiple UN employees in Gaza.
The group cited hate posts in a Telegram group of about 3,000 UNRWA teachers in Gaza, praising the Hamas attackers as “heroes”.
Timothy Sigsworth
Sat, January 27, 2024
UNRWA workers in a shelter for displaced Palestinians in Khan Yunis - MAHMUD HAMS/AFP
Britain has suspended its funding for the United Nations aid agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) after 12 of its employees were accused of taking part in the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.
The Foreign Office said it was “appalled” by the claims as it followed the United States, Canada, Australia and Italy in putting its funding on hold.
Israel has vowed to ban the UNRWA from operating in Gaza once the war is over after the agency sacked the workers on Friday.
The head of the UN relief agency has called on countries that have suspended funding to reconsider their “shocking” decision.
Philippe Lazzarini said UNRWA is depended upon by more than two million people for their survival.
Foreign Office documents show Britain has given UNRWA £27 million in aid since October 2022.
A memorandum of understanding between the Foreign Office and UNRWA shows Britain planned to hand it a further £2 million on April 15 and £9 million on October 1 this year.
But the Foreign Office has now said it is “temporarily pausing any future funding of UNRWA whilst we review these concerning allegations”.
“We remain committed to getting humanitarian aid to the people in Gaza who desperately need it,” it added.
Tents for displaced Palestinians at a UNRWA camp in Khan Younis - BLOOMBERG
Robert Jenrick, the former cabinet minister, who had accused ministers of having been “too blasé about who we have funded and for what purpose”, said: “I’m pleased the UK has followed the US in pausing support to UNRWA whilst these allegations are investigated.
“It’s an organisation whose leadership has fallen into a moral morass of complicity with Hamas, turning a blind eye to the terrorists,” he told The Telegraph.
“We need a new mechanism to support the people of Gaza that can drive economic development, demilitarisation and deradicalisation, once Hamas have been eradicated.”
In a statement on Saturday, UNRWA boss Mr Lazzarini said: “It is shocking to see a suspension of funds to the agency in reaction to allegations against a small group of staff, especially given the immediate action that UNRWA took by terminating their contracts and asking for a transparent independent investigation.
“The United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), the highest investigative authority in the UN system, has already been seized of this very serious matter.”
He added: “It would be immensely irresponsible to sanction an Agency and an entire community it serves because of allegations of criminal acts against some individuals, especially at a time of war, displacement and political crises in the region.”
The US state department said on Friday that it had paused its funding “while we review these allegations and the steps the United Nations is taking to address them”.
It said allegations had been made against 12 UNRWA employees.
Germany announced on Saturday that it was suspending funding to the agency.
Ahmed Hussen, Canada’s aid minister, said the country was “deeply troubled by the allegations relating to some UNRWA employees”.
Deeply concerned
Penny Wong, the foreign minister of Australia, said she was “deeply concerned” by the allegations and would “temporarily pause disbursement of recently announced funding” while the allegations are investigated.
Italy has also suspended its funding, with Antonio Tajan, the foreign minister, saying on Saturday morning: “Allied countries have recently made the same decision.”
Israel Katz, Israel’s foreign minister, said the government planned to stop the UNRWA ever operating in Gaza again.
“Under my leadership, the foreign ministry aims to promote a policy ensuring that UNRWA will not be a part of the day after, addressing other contributing factors,” he said.
“We will work to garner bipartisan support in the US, the European Union, and other nations globally for this policy aimed at halting UNRWA’s activities in Gaza.”
Hamas dismissed Israel’s allegations in a statement and urged the UN and other countries to not “cave in to the threats and blackmail”.
The UNRWA said on Friday that Israel had handed over intelligence alleging that a number of its workers were involved in October 7.
Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary-general, had been briefed about the allegations, his spokesperson said.
“The Secretary-General is horrified by this news,” said Stephane Dujarric, adding that “an urgent and comprehensive independent review of UNRWA will be conducted”.
The UN Watch, a Geneva-based NGO that scrutinises the work of the UN, earlier this month raised the alarm about alleged Hamas sympathies among multiple UN employees in Gaza.
The group cited hate posts in a Telegram group of about 3,000 UNRWA teachers in Gaza, praising the Hamas attackers as “heroes”.
What is UNRWA, the main aid provider in Gaza that Israel accuses of militant links?
JOSEPH KRAUSS
Sun, January 28, 2024
Palestinians displaced by the Israeli air and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip walk through a makeshift tent camp in Rafah on Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024.
(AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
Israel’s allegations that 12 employees of a United Nations agency were involved in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack have led several Western countries to cut off funding and reignited debate over Gaza's biggest humanitarian aid provider.
The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, employs thousands of staffers and provides vital aid and services to millions of people across the Middle East. In Gaza, it has been the main supplier of food, water and shelter to civilians during the Israel-Hamas war.
Israel has long railed against the agency, accusing it of tolerating or even collaborating with Hamas and of perpetuating the 75-year-old Palestinian refugee crisis. The Israeli government has accused Hamas and other militant groups of siphoning off aid and using U.N. facilities for military purposes.
UNRWA denies those allegations and says it took swift action against the employees accused of taking part in the attack. The United States and eight other Western nations that together provided more than half of UNRWA's budget in 2022 nevertheless suspended their funding to the agency.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says 2 million Palestinians in Gaza, or 87% of the population, rely on UNRWA services that would be scaled back as soon as February if the money is not restored.
WHAT IS UNRWA AND WHY WAS IT CREATED?
The U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East was established to provide aid to the estimated 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were driven out of what is now Israel during the 1948 war surrounding the country's creation.
The Palestinians say the refugees and their descendants, who now number nearly 6 million across the Middle East, have the right to return to their homes.
Israel has refused, because if the right of return were to be fully implemented it would result in a Palestinian majority inside its borders. The fate of the refugees and their descendants was among the thorniest issues in the peace process, which ground to a halt in 2009.
UNRWA operates schools, health clinics, infrastructure projects and aid programs in refugee camps that now resemble dense urban neighborhoods in Gaza, the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. It has 13,000 employees in Gaza alone, the vast majority of them Palestinians.
In Gaza, where some 85% of territory's 2.3 million people have fled their homes, over 1 million are sheltering in UNRWA schools and other facilities.
WHAT DO ISRAEL AND OTHER CRITICS SAY ABOUT UNRWA?
Israel accuses UNRWA of turning a blind eye as Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, siphons off aid intended for civilians and fights from in and around U.N. facilities, several of which have been struck during the war. It also has exposed Hamas tunnels running next to or under UNRWA facilities and accuses the agency of teaching hatred of Israel in its schools.
UNRWA denies those allegations. It says it has no links to Hamas or to any other militant groups, and that it thoroughly investigates any allegations of wrongdoing and holds staff accountable. It says it shares lists of all of its staff with Israel and other host countries.
The 12 employees are said to have participated in the surprise Oct. 7 attack in which Hamas fighters from Gaza overran Israel's extensive border defenses. Other militants joined in the subsequent rampage through nearby communities, which left 1,200 people dead, mostly civilians. Around 250 others, including children, were captured and dragged into Gaza.
U.N. chief Guterres said nine of the accused UNRWA employees were immediately terminated, one was confirmed dead and the other two still need to be identified. He said all would be held accountable, including through criminal prosecution.
Neither the details of the allegations nor the evidence supporting them has been made public.
UNRWA has condemned the Oct. 7 attack and called for all the hostages to be freed. Earlier this month, before the latest allegations, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini announced an external review of the agency to determine which accusations are “true or untrue” and “what is politically motivated.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the agency should be shut down. But his government has continued to allow UNRWA to operate in the West Bank and Gaza, where it provides basic services that might otherwise be the responsibility of Israel as the occupying power. No other entity would be able to quickly fill the void if UNRWA ceased operations.
WHAT DO THE FUNDING CUTS MEAN FOR GAZA?
The United States, which was the first country to suspend funding, is the biggest donor to UNRWA, providing it with $340 million in 2022. The United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Finland have also suspended aid.
The nine countries together provided nearly 60% of UNRWA's budget in 2022. It was not immediately clear when or how the suspension of aid would affect the agency's day-to-day operations. Norway and Ireland said they would continue funding UNRWA, while other donors have not yet made a decision.
The war has plunged Gaza into a severe humanitarian crisis. One in four Palestinians in the territory faces starvation, according to U.N. officials, who say aid operations are hampered by the fighting and Israeli restrictions.
“Our humanitarian operation, on which 2 million people depend as a lifeline in Gaza, is collapsing,” Lazzarini posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
He expressed shock that countries would suspend aid "based on alleged behavior of a few individuals and as the war continues, needs are deepening & famine looms.”
The war has killed more than 26,000 Palestinians, most women and children, and wounded more than 64,400 others, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. It does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its toll but says most of those killed were women and children.
The death toll includes more than 150 UNWRA employees, the most aid workers the U.N. has lost in a single conflict.
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Israel’s allegations that 12 employees of a United Nations agency were involved in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack have led several Western countries to cut off funding and reignited debate over Gaza's biggest humanitarian aid provider.
The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, employs thousands of staffers and provides vital aid and services to millions of people across the Middle East. In Gaza, it has been the main supplier of food, water and shelter to civilians during the Israel-Hamas war.
Israel has long railed against the agency, accusing it of tolerating or even collaborating with Hamas and of perpetuating the 75-year-old Palestinian refugee crisis. The Israeli government has accused Hamas and other militant groups of siphoning off aid and using U.N. facilities for military purposes.
UNRWA denies those allegations and says it took swift action against the employees accused of taking part in the attack. The United States and eight other Western nations that together provided more than half of UNRWA's budget in 2022 nevertheless suspended their funding to the agency.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says 2 million Palestinians in Gaza, or 87% of the population, rely on UNRWA services that would be scaled back as soon as February if the money is not restored.
WHAT IS UNRWA AND WHY WAS IT CREATED?
The U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East was established to provide aid to the estimated 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were driven out of what is now Israel during the 1948 war surrounding the country's creation.
The Palestinians say the refugees and their descendants, who now number nearly 6 million across the Middle East, have the right to return to their homes.
Israel has refused, because if the right of return were to be fully implemented it would result in a Palestinian majority inside its borders. The fate of the refugees and their descendants was among the thorniest issues in the peace process, which ground to a halt in 2009.
UNRWA operates schools, health clinics, infrastructure projects and aid programs in refugee camps that now resemble dense urban neighborhoods in Gaza, the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. It has 13,000 employees in Gaza alone, the vast majority of them Palestinians.
In Gaza, where some 85% of territory's 2.3 million people have fled their homes, over 1 million are sheltering in UNRWA schools and other facilities.
WHAT DO ISRAEL AND OTHER CRITICS SAY ABOUT UNRWA?
Israel accuses UNRWA of turning a blind eye as Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, siphons off aid intended for civilians and fights from in and around U.N. facilities, several of which have been struck during the war. It also has exposed Hamas tunnels running next to or under UNRWA facilities and accuses the agency of teaching hatred of Israel in its schools.
UNRWA denies those allegations. It says it has no links to Hamas or to any other militant groups, and that it thoroughly investigates any allegations of wrongdoing and holds staff accountable. It says it shares lists of all of its staff with Israel and other host countries.
The 12 employees are said to have participated in the surprise Oct. 7 attack in which Hamas fighters from Gaza overran Israel's extensive border defenses. Other militants joined in the subsequent rampage through nearby communities, which left 1,200 people dead, mostly civilians. Around 250 others, including children, were captured and dragged into Gaza.
U.N. chief Guterres said nine of the accused UNRWA employees were immediately terminated, one was confirmed dead and the other two still need to be identified. He said all would be held accountable, including through criminal prosecution.
Neither the details of the allegations nor the evidence supporting them has been made public.
UNRWA has condemned the Oct. 7 attack and called for all the hostages to be freed. Earlier this month, before the latest allegations, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini announced an external review of the agency to determine which accusations are “true or untrue” and “what is politically motivated.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the agency should be shut down. But his government has continued to allow UNRWA to operate in the West Bank and Gaza, where it provides basic services that might otherwise be the responsibility of Israel as the occupying power. No other entity would be able to quickly fill the void if UNRWA ceased operations.
WHAT DO THE FUNDING CUTS MEAN FOR GAZA?
The United States, which was the first country to suspend funding, is the biggest donor to UNRWA, providing it with $340 million in 2022. The United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Finland have also suspended aid.
The nine countries together provided nearly 60% of UNRWA's budget in 2022. It was not immediately clear when or how the suspension of aid would affect the agency's day-to-day operations. Norway and Ireland said they would continue funding UNRWA, while other donors have not yet made a decision.
The war has plunged Gaza into a severe humanitarian crisis. One in four Palestinians in the territory faces starvation, according to U.N. officials, who say aid operations are hampered by the fighting and Israeli restrictions.
“Our humanitarian operation, on which 2 million people depend as a lifeline in Gaza, is collapsing,” Lazzarini posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
He expressed shock that countries would suspend aid "based on alleged behavior of a few individuals and as the war continues, needs are deepening & famine looms.”
The war has killed more than 26,000 Palestinians, most women and children, and wounded more than 64,400 others, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. It does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its toll but says most of those killed were women and children.
The death toll includes more than 150 UNWRA employees, the most aid workers the U.N. has lost in a single conflict.
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