Australia, Italy, the U.K. and other key donors halted funding to U.N. agency over claim staff involved in Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7.
Several key donor countries to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees and said on Saturday they would halt their funding following accusations by Israel that several UNRWA staff were involved in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack.
The U.S. State Department said on Friday they suspended payments to the organization. The U.S. underlined that “UNRWA plays a critical role in providing lifesaving assistance to Palestinians, including essential food, medicine, shelter, and other vital humanitarian support.” The UNRWA is the United Nations humanitarian agency that serves Palestinians.
The organization said it had opened an investigation into allegations from Israel that some of its staff members participated in . State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said 12 UNRWA employees had been accused of participating.
Canada’s International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen also announced on Friday that Ottawa had “temporarily paused any additional funding to UNRWA while it undertakes a thorough investigation into these allegations.”
UNRWA responded by saying it had fired several staff over Israel’s accusations, promising a thorough investigation into the claims, which were not specified, while Israel vowed to stop the agency’s work in Gaza after the war.
