UNRWA funding cuts threaten Palestinian lives, NGOs warn
Twenty aid organizations have joined together to express deep concern and outrage that some of the largest donors suspended funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the largest humanitarian agency in the Gaza Strip and the main provider for millions of Palestinians in the wider region.
A wave of countries, including the United States, have cut funding for UNRWA in recent days over Israel's accusations that 13 UNRWA staff members in Gaza were involved in the Oct. 7 terror attack. UNRWA said it is investigating the allegations.
In a joint statement released Monday, 20 non-governmental organizations, including Oxfam and Save the Children, urged the donor states to reverse their suspensions and warned that not doing so could lead to "a complete collapse of the already restricted humanitarian response in 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 NGOs said. "This decision comes as the International Court of Justice ordered immediate and effective action to ensure the provision of humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza."
The NGOs warned: "If the funding suspensions are not reversed we may see a complete collapse of the already restricted humanitarian response in Gaza."
"The suspension of funding by donor states will impact life-saving assistance for over two million civilians, over half of whom are children, who rely on UNRWA aid in Gaza," they added. "The population faces starvation, looming famine and an outbreak of disease under Israel's continued indiscriminate bombardment and deliberate deprivation of aid in Gaza."
-ABC News' Morgan Winsor