UK and Us rejects funding to UN agency in Gaza

Residents in Gaza carrying relief from the UN

The US and a growing list of other nations are pausing funding to the main UN agency in Gaza over allegations members of its staff were involved in the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel. The agency — UNRWA — has fired several employees over the claims.
Israel will seek to ensure UNRWA does not operate in Gaza after the war, its foreign minister said Saturday. Israel’s relations with the UN have deteriorated during its war in Gaza.
Desperately needed aid deliveries for Gaza are being further delayed by Israeli protests blocking a border crossing, according to the UN, exacerbating the crisis in the Palestinian enclave.
The Houthi rebel group struck another commercial ship off the coast of Yemen on Friday. The Iran-backed group says its attacks on global shipping — which have provoked several rounds of strikes by the US and UK — are meant to pressure Israel to stop its war in Gaza.

The United Kingdom and Finland on Saturday announced they are temporarily pausing funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) after allegations that 12 staff members were involved in the October 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas in Israel.

The United States, Australia, Canada and Italy have already announced they are suspending funding.

In a statement shared with hicginewsagency the UK foreign office said it was “appalled by allegations that UNRWA staff were involved in the 7 October attack against Israel, a heinous act of terrorism that the UK Government has repeatedly condemned.”

The Finnish foreign ministry said Saturday it had suspended its funding of 5 million euros (around $5.4 million US) per year due to the “serious allegations.” It called for an “independent and thorough investigation of the matter.”

Hamas condemns Israeli “threats”: Hamas said in an official statement released Saturday that it condemns Israel’s “threats and blackmail” against the UNRWA. The group criticized the relief agency’s decision to fire the accused employees in Gaza and called for an “impartial investigation” into Israel’s allegations.

Hamas also slammed a claim made by Israel’s UN ambassador that the World Health Organization is in “collusion” with the Hamas movement, calling that a “hollow accusation,” and stressing the importance of these agencies in providing aid in the besieged enclave.

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