Gaza aid 'at risk' as countries pause UN agency funding after allegations staff were involved in Oct. 7 attack

A pause in funding to a critical United Nations agency is raising concerns that humanitarian aid in Gaza is at further risk.

Canada and the U.S. paused funding to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) Friday after Israeli authorities claimed several of the agency'sstaff members were involved in the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attacks on Israel.

Seven other countries the United Kingdom, Australia, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Finland have taken similar action.

The UNRWA is sheltering most of Gaza's population, with members employed as teachers, nurses, janitors and other social support workers looking after residents who have been displaced by Israeli airstrikes. The organization also plays a key logistical rolewith other aid agencies, identifying need and getting resources where they need togo.

"It's basically a municipal government. Theytakecare of many, many things, from hospitals, medical care, schooling, sanitation, that sort of thing," saidMichael Bociurkiw, a Canadian global affairs analyst and former UNICEF spokesperson for the West Bank and Gaza.

"It is inconceivable that any other aid agency on the planet could currently do what UNRWA is doing in Gaza," saidRex Brynen, chair of the Middle East Studies program at McGill University in Montreal. He has worked in war zones and acted as a consultant to the Canadian International Development Agency, the World Bank and United Nations agencies, among others.

"UNRWA is desperately short of resources right now.Gaza is desperately short of resources. And any funding paused by anyone puts the humanitarian relief efforts at risk."

He said Western leadersrecognize how critical the agency is, but are in a place where they need to act onthe "serious" allegations for political and operational reasons.

"But also the reality is that suspending funding for the single most important humanitarian aid agency which everyone agrees has been doing an outstanding job of humanitarian assistance in a very difficult environment is problematic," Brynen said.

UNRWA pleads for funding

The UNRWA said Friday it fired the employees suspected of involvement and opened an investigation, vowing any employee "involved in acts of terror" would be held accountable, including through criminal prosecution.

Bociurkiwtold CBC News on Sunday that it's difficult to monitor everyone in an organization that has tens of thousands of employees, but these allegations are so serious that the aid agency mustdo more to restore the faith of donor countries such as release detailsof the investigation and call in an independent investigator, "maybe a former UNsecretarygeneral on that level to get to the bottom of this."

On Saturday, the agency's commissioner-general, Philippe Lazzarini, urged countries to reinstate their funding "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 saidin a statement.

Lazzarini said it is "shocking" to see funds suspended in reaction to allegations against a small group of staff after UNRWA terminated their contracts and taskedthe United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services to carry out an independent investigation.

"UNRWA is the primary humanitarian agency in Gaza, with over twomillion people depending on it for their sheer survival.Many are hungry as the clock is ticking towards a looming famine," he said in the statement.

The International Court of Justice ruledFriday that Israel must take immediate measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance in the Gaza Strip. Lazzarini said thatcan only be accomplishedthrough co-operation with international partners and with UNRWA, as the largest humanitarian actor.

Hussein al-Sheikh, secretary-general ofthe Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), saidcutting support to the agency brings major political and reliefrisks."We call on countries that announced the cessation of theirsupport for UNRWA to immediately reverse their decision," hesaid on X.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry criticized what itdescribed as an Israeli campaign against UNRWA, and Hamascondemned the termination of employee contracts "based oninformation derived from the Zionist enemy."

Israeli Foreign MinisterIsrael Katz encouraged more donor suspensionsand said UNRWA should be replaced once fighting in theenclave dies down, accusingit of ties to Islamist militantsin Gaza.

"In Gaza's rebuilding, @UNRWA must be replaced with agenciesdedicated to genuine peace and development," he said on X.

Deputy UNspokesperson Farhan Haq, asked about Katz'sremarks, said,"We are not responding to rhetoric. UNRWA overallhad had a strong record, which we have repeatedly underscored."

What could happen if funds run dry?

The agency has more than 30,000 employees overall, mostly Palestinian refugees, and is under strain with concurrent conflictsin Gaza, Syria and Lebanon.

UNRWA says at least 152 of its employees have been killed since Oct. 7, as of Jan. 22.The agency says one of its shelters in Khan Younis has been struck repeatedly by Israeli missiles, the latest hit on Jan. 24, which killedat least 13 people.

Lazzarini said 3,000 core staff out of 13,000 in Gaza continue to work, "giving their communities a lifeline which can collapse anytime now due to lack of funding."

WATCH | UN agency's key donors, including Canada, suspend funding:

Aid for Gaza in jeopardy with UNRWA funding cuts

8 months ago

Duration 3:02

Several countries, including Canada, have cut funding to the United Nations relief program for Palestinians after accusations that some workers had links to the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel. The reduced funding is expected to make aid in Gaza more precarious.

Brynen suggested the collapse of UNRWA could lead to hundreds of thousands of desperate Palestinians crashing the Egyptian border, which Egypt has said could end its peace treaty with Israel.

Western countries are likely hoping the UNRWA makes a significant move to quell their concerns so they can reinstate funding, he said.

"From the point of view of American policy, where they're already getting hammered for the massive civilian casualties in Gaza, they realize full well if it wasn't for UNRWA, this situation would be orders of magnitude worse not only from a humanitarian point of view, but from, frankly, a political point of viewas well," Brynen said.

Brynen said organizations such as the UN World Food Program, UNICEF,Red Cross, Doctors Without Bordersand potentially the World Health Organization could step up their relief response to mitigate the effects of a funding pause in the short term, but no agency has the staff or distribution network toreplace UNRWA.

What is UNRWA?

Officially called the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, UNRWA was established in 1949 following the war surrounding Israel's creation.

The agency provides services for Palestinian refugees inthe occupied West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, as well as Gaza.

Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have accused the agency of fuelling anti-Israeli sentiment, which it denies.

UNRWA has provided aid and used its facilities to shelter people fleeing bombardment and a ground offensive launched by Israel in Gaza following the Oct. 7 attacks, during which about 1,200 people were killed and about 250 taken hostage.

Israel's offensive has laid waste to much of the densely populated Gaza Strip and killed more than 26,000 Palestinians, according to health officials in the territory.