U.N. head calls UNRWA 'backbone' of Gaza aid, appeals for continued funding

Feb. 1 (UPI) -- United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the U.N. relief agency for Palestinian refugees "the backbone of all humanitarian response in Gaza" as he appealed for continued funding for the program in the wake of allegations that a dozen of its employees were involved in Hamas' October attack on Israel.

The need for humanitarian assistance in Gaza has been a constant throughout Israel's four-month war against Iran-backed Hamas in the Palestinian enclave. And what has reached those in need has mostly gone through the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees.

However, about a dozen countries, including its largest backer, the United States, have paused funding for the agency after allegations were raised last week that 12 of its employees were involved in the Oct. 7 attack that killed some 1,200 Israelis and started the ongoing war.

Guterres told the U.N. Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People on Wednesday that he had spoken to UNRWA's donors a day prior to listen to their concerns and outline steps they were taking to address them.

"I underscored the importance of keeping UNRWA's vital work going to meet the dire needs of civilians in Gaza, and to ensure its continuity of services to Palestine refugees in the occupied West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria," he said.

"UNRWA is the backbone of all humanitarian response in Gaza. I appeal to all member states to guarantee the continuity of UNRWA's life-saving work."

He said the humanitarian system in Gaza was collapsing and that he is "extremely concerned" by the conditions the enclave's 2.2 million people, of which 85% have been displaced, face as they struggled to survive without basic supplies.

"Everyone in Gaza is hungry, while half a million grapple with catastrophic levels of food insecurity," he said. "I call for a rapid, safe, unhindered, expanded and sustained humanitarian access throughout Gaza."

Following the allegations, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said he launched an investigation and terminated the contracts of those implicated. Of the 12 UNRWA employees alleged to have been involved in the attack, nine were immediately identified and had their contracts terminated, one is confirmed dead and the identities of two others are being clarified, he said.

More than two dozen non-government organization warned Wednesday that the suspension of funding by donors will affect life-saving assistance at a time when a famine and a disease outbreak loom under Israel's continued bombardment of Gaza.

"We are shocked by the reckless decision to cut a lifeline for an entire population by some of the very countries that had called for aid in Gaza to be stepped up and for humanitarians to be protected while doing their job," the 28 organizations, including Oxfam and Save the Children, said in the joint statement.

"If the funding suspensions are not reversed we may see a complete collapse of the already restricted humanitarian response in Gaza."

Though some of its largest backers have suspended funding, others have said the situation is too dire to end their support for UNRWA, despite raising concerns about the allegations.

While the European Union has said no additional funding to the organization is foreseen until the end of February, its top diplomat, Josep Borrell Fontelles, said on X Wednesday that he "fully agrees" with Guterres.

"@UNRWA reacted swiftly after the allegations against some employees," he said. "Its life-saving work is the backbone of humanitarian response in Gaza.

"U.N. members must guarantee it."

He earlier said it was "critical to preserve @UNRWA's irreplaceable role" in delivering aid to Gaza.

Guterres' call came as the Hamas-controlled Palestinian Ministry of Health said that the death toll has reached 26,900, plus nearly 66,000 people have been injured in the war.