US holds back $300,000 funding to UN agency amid allegations of ties with Hamas

In the wake of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) facing allegations of having ties with Hamas, the United States has decided to temporarily suspend approximately $300,000 in funding.

The step was taken after Israel claimed that the agency’s staff had been involved in the October 7 Hamas attacks, which raised concerns across the world and forced the UN to investigate the issue.

The pause in the funding was confirmed by State Department spokesperson Matt Miller, which was originally scheduled for delivery in the weeks ahead.

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The US last week had announced that it is temporarily suspending the funding after reports emerged of UNRWA staff having potential links with the Hamas attacks.

The total impact of the pause is likely to depend on the amount which was authorised by Congress for the current fiscal year.

As per Miller, the US has till now provided around USD 121 million worth of funds to UNRWA in the current fiscal year.

He further stressed the necessity of a thorough investigation into the allegations made against UNRWA and acknowledged the important role it has played in providing humanitarian support, which includes education, food relief and healthcare to Gaza's population.

The US and 34 other donor nations are set to hold a meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday (Jan 30).

Halting funds to UN refugee agency will be ‘catastrophic’: UN bodies

In a joint statement, the heads of multiple UN bodies on Wednesday (Jan 31) said that cutting off funding to the UNRWA will have "catastrophic consequences" for war-torn Gaza.

Watch:UNRWA crisis: After US, Germany & other European nations suspend funding

"Withdrawing funds from UNRWA is perilous and would result in the collapse of the humanitarian system in Gaza, with far-reaching humanitarian and human rights consequences in the occupied Palestinian territory and across the region," read a statement bythe Inter-Agency Standing Committee which comprisesheads of different UN organisations.

UN agency allowed Hamas to use infrastructure for ‘military activity’, alleges Israel

Israel on Wednesday (Jan 31) further accused UNRWA of allowing the militant group Hamas to use its infrastructure in the Gaza Strip to carry out military activity.

“UNRWA is a front for Hamas. It has been fundamentally compromised in three main ways: hiring terrorists on a massive scale, letting its infrastructure be used for Hamas military activity and relying on Hamas for aid distribution in the Gaza Strip,” said government spokesman Eylon Levy, in a video statement.

Levy further alleged that 10 per cent of UNRWA employees are members of Islamic Jihad militant groups or Hamas in Gaza. “It is not a neutral organisation,” he said.

(With inputs from agencies)