UNRWA chief warns of end to aid in Gaza
Published: Sunday, Jan 28th 2024, 01:31
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Following the temporary suspension of payments to the UN Palestinian Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) due to the alleged involvement of some of its employees in the Hamas massacre in Israel, the head of the organization has warned of an end to aid in Gaza. "Our humanitarian mission, on which two million people depend as a lifeline in Gaza, is collapsing," wrote Philippe Lazzarini on the online platform X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday night. He said he was shocked that such decisions were being made on the basis of the presumed behavior of a few people. "The Palestinians in Gaza did not need additional collective punishment," the Swiss added.
According to UNRWA, nine countries had suspended their payments to the organization in the Gaza Strip for the time being as of Saturday. According to its own information, the aid organization runs shelters for more than one million people and provides food and basic medical care. Important donors such as the USA, Great Britain and Germany had decided to take this step because twelve of the organization's several thousand employees in the Gaza Strip were allegedly involved in the bloodbath on 7 October. They were dismissed immediately.
Lazzarini had reported that Israel had provided the aid organization with information that several employees had been involved in the bloodbath. He and UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed their horror and threatened those involved with criminal prosecution if the suspicions were confirmed. The UN did not initially say how the employees may have been involved in the Hamas attack in Israel.
©Keystone/SDA
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