The United Nations agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) was established in 1949 following the Nakba or the catastrophe in which more than 700,000 Palestinians were forced to flee their homes during the creation of Israel.
The agency began operations on 1 May 1950, and since then provides education, healthcare, humanitarian aid and social services to Palestinians in Gaza, the occupied West Bank, Jordan, Syrian and Lebanon.
UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions from UN member states. Today, the agency has 30,000 employees in total, 13,000 of whom are working in the Gaza Strip.
In the enclave, UNRWA provides services to 1,476,706 registered refugees, with 183 schools, 22 health facilities and seven women centers along with other facilities, according to UN data.
UNRWA schools are attended by 286,645 students in Gaza and an average of 3.4 million people visit its medical facilities.
Why are countries suspending funds to UNRWA?
Several western countries, including Canada, Australia, Italy, Finland, Netherlands and Switzerland, have temporarily paused or canceled their funding to the UNRWA – a critical source of support for people in Gaza – after Israel accused its employees of involvement in Hamas’ October 7 attack.
The move comes after the US ceased its funding to UNRWA on Friday, saying the allegations were against 12 employees who “may have been involved” in the Hamas attack that incited Israel’s military attack on Gaza.
In response UNRWA said it has sacked several employees accused by Israel of being involved with the Palestinian militant group.
The head of the agency, Philippe Lazzarini, has vowed to hold “accountable, including through criminal prosecution” any UNRWA employee found to have been involved in “acts of terror.”
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Saturday she was “deeply concerned” by the allegations against the agency.
“We are speaking with partners and will temporarily pause disbursement of recent funding,” she wrote on social media platform X.
“We welcome UNRWA’s immediate response, including terminating contracts and launching an investigation, as well as its recent announcement of a full investigation into allegations against the organization,” she added.
Meanwhile, Norway and Ireland have confirmed that they will not cut funding to the agency.
The Director of the Council for the Arab-British Understanding, Chris Doyle, defended the agency citing difficulties on constantly policing thousands of employees.
“UNRWA have 13,000 staff working at 350 installations in Gaza serving 1.7 million Palestinian refugees. Currently it is sheltering 1 million [displaced people]. It sacked 12 staff members based on allegations,” Chris Doyle, director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding, wrote on X.
“How can such a large agency operating in a war zone, in an area under Israeli occupation, be expected to police 24 hours, seven days a week [?]” he added.
Appeal for funds
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Sunday implored governments to continue supporting the UNRWA.
Guterres vowed to hold to account “any UN employee involved in acts of terror” after allegations of involvement with Hamas.
“The tens of thousands of men and women who work for UNRWA, many in some of the most dangerous situations for humanitarian workers, should not be penalized. The dire needs of the desperate populations they serve must be met,” Guterres said.
In his first direct comments on the issue, the UN chief gave details about the UNRWA staffers implicated in the “abhorrent alleged acts.” Of the 12 implicated, he said, nine had been terminated, one was confirmed dead and the identities of the other two were being clarified.
“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,” he said.
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Hamas condemned the suspension of funds, accusing Israel of a “campaign of incitement” against UN agencies delivering vital supplies to Palestinians in Gaza.
Israel’s attacks on UNRWA
The Israeli government has for some time attacked UNRWA, accusing it of fueling anti-Israel sentiment, a charge the UN agency denies.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz on Saturday said his government would seek to stop he agency from operating in Gaza after the war.
“We have been warning for years: UNRWA perpetuates the refugee issue, obstructs peace and serves as a civilian arm of Hamas in Gaza,” Katz wrote on X.
At least 136 of UNRWA’s 13,000 staff members in Gaza have been killed by Israeli attacks since the war broke out on October 7.
Its schools, facilities and shelters have been repeatedly targeted by Israeli bombardment, with hundreds of thousands displaced Palestinian civilians killed while seeking shelter in the agency’s facilities.
At least 26,422 Palestinians have been killed with 64,797 wounded since Hamas’ October 7 attack.
