UK Resumes Funding to UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees

Britain’s new government announced on Friday that it has lifted the funding suspension for the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) and committed to providing £21 million ($27 million) in new funds.

“We are reversing the suspension of UNRWA funding,” British Foreign Minister David Lammy informed parliament, emphasizing that the U.N. agency is “absolutely central” to delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza, which is currently experiencing a humanitarian crisis due to Israel’s conflict with Hamas.

“Humanitarian aid is a moral necessity in the face of such a catastrophe, and it is aid agencies that ensure UK support reaches civilians on the ground,” Lammy added.

UNRWA is responsible for coordinating nearly all aid distribution in Gaza but has faced financial struggles after international donors halted funding in January following Israeli allegations that some UNRWA staff were involved in Hamas’s October 7 attack that triggered the war.

Several countries have since resumed funding, but the UK and the agency’s largest donor, the United States, had been holding out.

Lammy expressed his dismay over the allegations but felt reassured after reforms suggested by an independent review indicated that “UNRWA is ensuring they meet the highest standards of neutrality and strengthening its procedures, including on vetting.”

UNRWA spokeswoman Juliette Touma told AFP that the lifting of the UK suspension was “excellent and very welcome.”

“It’s very timely and comes at a critical time as UNRWA continues to be the lead agency on the humanitarian frontlines in Gaza,” she added.

Yasmine Ahmed, the UK director of Human Rights Watch, praised the resumption of UK funding, saying it “will save lives and should be applauded.”

“Withholding funding only exacerbated the horrific consequences of what has been a concerted campaign by the Israeli government to malign, discredit, and undermine UNRWA’s critical and lifesaving work,” she added.

Lammy, appointed foreign secretary just two weeks ago following Labour’s landslide general election victory, reiterated a call for an “immediate ceasefire” and the release of hostages.

“Britain wants to see an immediate ceasefire. The fighting must stop. The hostages must be released. Much, much more aid has got to enter Gaza. This horror must end now,” Lammy stated in his first address to the House of Commons in the role.

The war began with Hamas’s attack on southern Israel on October 7, which resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.

Israel responded with a military offensive that has killed at least 38,848 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza, and has caused a devastating humanitarian crisis.