How US Boycott of UNRWA Agency Leaves Gaza Aid Uncertain

More than a dozen countries stopped funding the UN agency that supports Palestinian refugees earlier this year after Israel accused 13 of its staffers of direct involvement in the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks that killed some 1,200 people. All of those countries — apart from the United States — have since reinstated funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, according to a spokesperson for the body. While this support, along with private donations, allows UNRWA to supply aid at full capacity until September, its longer-term funding situation remains uncertain.

Israel has long accused UNRWA of giving cover to Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip and is designated a terrorist group by the US and European Union. While the US has cut off support for UNRWA before, the one-year funding prohibition voted by Congress in March came at the worst possible time for the people of Gaza. Some 39,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s conflict with Hamas in the territory, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, and more than 2 million people have been displaced. Public pressure at home has led the UK and some other nations to restore their UNRWA funding. The US government in June announced $340 million in funding for humanitarian assistance in Gaza, which will need to be delivered via other channels than UNRWA. Other international aid groups are operating there, but UNRWA is by far the largest.