US Considers Aiding Gaza Palestinians Through Other Agencies Amid Continuing Suspension of UNRWA Funding
by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – Continuing the suspension of its funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA), the United States announced it is looking to provide assistance to Gaza Palestinians through other aid organizations instead, the Times of Israel (TOI) reports. Together with several other western powers, the Biden administration suspended its funding of UNRWA last month following credible allegations that 12 of the agency’s staffers had participated in the Hamas’ Oct.7 genocidal attack on Israel.
In a press briefing outlining the US State Department’s deliberations on aid to Gaza, deputy spokesman Vedant Patel said Monday: “We’re looking at what options exist for supporting civilians in Gaza through partners like the World Food Program, UNICEF and other NGOs.”
The Democrat-controlled Senate on Sunday approved around $1.4 billion in humanitarian funding for Gaza, with a condition that none of it be given to UNRWA, TOI reports. It is not clear whether the bill will pass, as House GOP leaders have said they will block it.
In any event, the State Department has emphasized that the Biden administration has not written UNRWA off completely, and considers its work to be “critical,” TOI reports. Accordingly, the administration is calling on the United Nations to conduct its investigation of the allegations against UNRWA quickly so that funding can be resumed.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced Monday that he has appointed an independent panel “to assess whether the Agency is doing everything within its power to ensure neutrality and to respond to allegations of serious breaches when they are made.”
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