AGENCIES

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called his organization’s Palestinian refugee agency the “backbone” of Gaza aid after several countries suspended funding over Israeli claims 12 UNRWA staffers participated in Hamas’ October 7 attacks.

He also appealed to all countries to “guarantee the continuity of UNRWA’s lifesaving work.”

“Yesterday, I met with donors to listen to their concerns and to outline the steps we are taking to address them... UNRWA is the backbone of all humanitarian response in Gaza,” Guterres told a UN committee on Palestinian rights on Wednesday.

Withholding UNRWA funding was “perilous and would result in the collapse of the humanitarian system in Gaza,” the heads of the UN agencies said in a joint statement Tuesday.

The dispute intensified earlier Tuesday after Israel accused UNRWA of allowing Hamas to use agency infrastructure in Gaza for military activity.

UNRWA said it has acted promptly over allegations by Israel that 12 of its staff were involved in the Hamas attacks. Washington, Britain, Germany and Japan are among countries to have suspended payments in light of those disclosures.

The UN’s humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said the entire humanitarian system -- with UNRWA at its center -- was committed to delivering aid to Gaza, reports AFP.

“The breadth of the humanitarian community –- including UN agencies, NGOs, the Red Cross and the Red Crescent -- is collaborating to ensure that aid reaches people in need to the greatest extent possible,” he told the UN Security Council. “You will not be surprised to hear that at the beating heart of this is UNRWA.

“Our humanitarian response for the occupied Palestinian territories is dependent on UNRWA being adequately funded and operational. Of course we would like to see decisions to withhold funds from UNRWA revoked,” he said.

UN Gaza aid coordinator Sigrid Kaag said earlier Tuesday “there is no way that any organization can replace or substitute (the) tremendous capacity... of UNRWA.”

The World Health Organization’s emergencies director Michael Ryan said on Wednesday that population of Gaza is starving to death due to constraints imposed on humanitarian aid.

The WHO said the risk of famine in the Palestinian territory was already high and on the rise, with the space for humanitarian intervention being increasingly squeezed.

“This is a population that is starving to death, this is a population that is being pushed to the brink,” Ryan told a press conference. “The civilians of Gaza are not parties to this conflict and they should be protected, as should be their health facilities,” he added.