UNRWA could run out of Gaza funding in a month as many in West cut aid

The United Nations Palestinian Refugee and Works Agency warned on Monday that it won’t be able to continue its operations in Gaza after the end of February if the funding that was cut by many countries last week does not resume.

The suspensions of funding to the UN refugee agency in the Gaza Strip followed reports that 12 of its employees took part in Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault on southern Israel, during which militants killed some 1,200 people and took over 240 others hostage.

UNRWA, which employs thousands in the Strip, sacked the 12 employees and has started an investigation into the allegations. But the agency is warning of a dire situation if the funding is not restored. 

"If the funding is not resumed, UNRWA will not be able to continue its services and operations across the region, including in Gaza, beyond the end of February," a spokesperson for the agency said.

The agency is already struggling to meet the needs of half million of internally displaced people inside Gaza.

Washington was the first to announce it was temporarily suspending funding to UNRWA on Friday following the Israeli allegations.

Germany, Switzerland, Canada, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Australia, Italy, Finland, France and Japan followed suit over the weekend.

Israeli military intelligence and the Shin Bet provided information to the United States and UNRWA indicating that 12 UNRWA staffers had participated in the Oct. 7 attack.

“This was strong and corroborated intelligence,” a senior Israeli official told Axios Friday. “A lot of the intelligence is a result of interrogations of militants who were arrested during the Oct. 7 attack.”

More details emerged over the weekend. According to the New York Times, 10 of the 12 alleged UNRWA employees were members of Hamas and one was affiliated with Islamic Jihad, while the last one was not identified. All 12 work at UNRWA institutions including schools and shelters, reported the newspaper, which reviewed the Israeli intelligence documents.

According to the documents, one of the employees is believed to have been involved in an attack at a kibbutz that killed 97 people.

UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini described the allegations as “shocking” and said those involved were immediately fired. He added in a Friday statement that an investigation has been opened “in order to establish the truth without delay.”

Hamas condemned the Israeli claims against UNRWA, calling on the UN and international organizations “not to yield to the Israeli threats and blackmail.”

What is UNRWA?

The UNRWA was established in 1949 to provide direct relief to thousands of Palestinians who were displaced as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.

Today, the agency provides food and cash assistance as well as education, health care and other basic services to some 5.9 million registered Palestinian refugees and their descendants in the Palestinian territories (the West Bank and Gaza Strip) along with Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

UNRWA relies almost entirely on voluntary contributions from UN member states, according to its website.

The United States is the largest donor to UNRWA, providing it with $343.9 million in 2022. The US contributions and those from the European Union plus individual EU member states including Germany, Sweden and France as well as that from Japan make up the bulk of the agency's funding.

UNRWA operations in Gaza

More than 26,422 people, mostly women and children, have been killed and 65,087 others injured since Israel launched its massive air and ground campaign against Gaza in response to Hamas’ cross-border assault, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza.

The humanitarian situation has reached catastrophic levels, according to the UN, amid limited humanitarian access coupled with critical shortages of food, medicine and other basic necessities.

The fighting has also displaced an estimated 1.7 million people, nearly three quarters of Gaza’s total population, since the onset of the war. The majority are sheltering in overcrowded UNRWA schools and facilities across the territory.

Halt in funding to worsen Gaza situation

As the war rages on, UNRWA says over 2 million Gazans now depend on the agency’s services.

In a Monday report on the situation in Gaza, UNRWA said it has delivered to the enclave $6.2 million worth of medical supplies, 19 million liters of water and 4.7 million cans of food among other goods between Oct. 21 and Jan. 24.

The suspensions of funding to UNRWA has raised concerns about its ability to continue operating in war-torn Gaza.

In a press release on Saturday, Lazzarani said the move threatens the agency’s ongoing operations in the enclave.

“I urge countries who have suspended their funding to reconsider their decisions 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 added.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also appealed to the countries that suspended their donations to reconsider their decisions to ensure the continuity of UNRWA’s work.

While acknowledging the seriousness of the Israeli allegations brought against some UNRWA staffers, Gueterres said the current funding will not allow the agency to meet the needs of those affected by the war in Gaza in February.

“The abhorrent alleged acts of these staff members must have consequences. But 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,” he said in a press statement on Sunday.

Several countries, including Norway and Ireland, have said they will not suspend their contributions, seen as crucial for UNRWA to continue its operations in Gaza at this critical time.

Spain has also continued its funding. Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told the Spanish Congress on Monday that the agency’s employees must not be penalized for the “alleged horrendous acts” of a dozen of them.

Adding to its looming funding crisis, UNRWA facilities in Gaza have been repeatedly bombed during Israel's ongoing war. The agency said in its Monday report that 145 facilities have been damaged and 152 staffers killed since Oct. 7.

UNRWA employs over 13,000 people operating in 300 facilities across Gaza.