UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini made the announcement at the end of the UN Donors Conference in New York.
At the time, Lazzarini said the donations received through this Friday would allow the company to operate until the end of September, and this morning the money had only arrived at the end of August.
The initiative, supported by UNRWA, brought together 118 countries, more than half of the United Nations member states.
Just before the start of the donor conference at the UN, Slovenian Foreign Minister Danja Fajon appeared at the entrance to the Security Council with dozens of diplomats to urge the remaining countries to join the effort to support UNRWA. Urgent and difficult times.”
UNRWA, which before the current conflict was responsible for providing education, health and other social services to two-thirds of the 2.4 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, has been under severe pressure since last January, when Israel accused 12 of its people. Members involved in the October 7 Hamas attacks in Israeli territory. Immediately, major donors froze their funds and remittances.
In the months that followed, the UN said that it employed “450 terrorists” in the Gaza Strip, or that 17% of its 30,000 workers were actually members of Hamas. Israel escalated its rhetoric against the agency.
In the absence of evidence related to Israel’s accusations, most countries decided to resume funding, unlike the United States, which voted in Congress to completely suspend funding until at least March 2025.
At the start of the donors’ conference, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres — in Israel’s crosshairs — paid tribute to the “men and women of UNRWA” who are allegedly “pro-Palestinian.” The possible way is possible, under extreme conditions and in the midst of their own suffering.”
Guterres recalled that 195 UNRWA members were victims of Israeli bombings, “the highest number of personnel killed in UN history”, and that those who continued their work were “increasingly the target of violent protests and harsh disinformation campaigns”.
The Portuguese reiterated that the UN “is the backbone of humanitarian operations in Gaza” and that “without UNRWA’s necessary support and funding, Palestinian refugees are deprived of decisive support and the last ray of hope for a better future”.
