Gaza humanitarian aid 'at risk' as Western countries pause UNRWA funding

A pause in funding to a critical United Nations agency is raising concerns that humanitarian aid in Gaza is at further risk.

Canada and the U.S. paused funding to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) Friday after Israeli authorities claimed several of the agency's staff members were involved in the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attacks on Israel.

Seven other countries — the United Kingdom, Australia, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Finland — have taken similar action.

The UNRWA is sheltering most of Gaza's population, with members employed as teachers, nurses, janitors and other social support workers looking after residents who have been displaced by Israeli airstrikes. The organization also plays a key logistical role with other aid agencies, identifying need and getting resources where they need to go. 

"It's basically a municipal government. They take care of many, many things, from hospitals, medical care, schooling, sanitation, that sort of thing," said Michael Bociurkiw, a Canadian global affairs analyst and former UNICEF spokesperson for the West Bank and Gaza.

"It is inconceivable that any other aid agency on the planet could currently do what UNRWA is doing in Gaza," said Rex Brynen, chair of the Middle East Studies program at McGill University in Montreal. He has worked in war zones and acted as a consultant to the Canadian International Development Agency, the World Bank and United Nations agencies, among others.

"UNRWA is desperately short of resources right now. Gaza is desperately short of resources. And any funding paused by anyone puts the humanitarian relief efforts at risk."

He said Western leaders recognize how critical the agency is, but are in a place where they need to act on the "serious" allegations for political and operational reasons. 

"But also the reality is that suspending funding for the single most important humanitarian aid agency — which everyone agrees has been doing an outstanding job of humanitarian assistance in a very difficult environment — is problematic," Brynen said.

The UNRWA said Friday it fired the employees suspected of involvement and opened an investigation, vowing any employee "involved in acts of terror" would be held accountable, including through criminal prosecution.

Bociurkiw told CBC News on Sunday that it's difficult to monitor everyone in an organization that has tens of thousands of employees, but these allegations are so serious that the aid agency must do more to restore the faith of donor countries — such as release details of the investigation and call in an independent investigator, "maybe a former UN secretary general on that level to get to the bottom of this."

On Saturday, the agency's commissioner-general, Philippe Lazzarini, urged countries to reinstate their funding "before UNRWA is forced to suspend its humanitarian response. "The lives of people in Gaza depend on this support and so does regional stability," he said in a statement.

Lazzarini said it is "shocking" to see funds suspended in reaction to allegations against a small group of staff after UNRWA terminated their contracts and tasked the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services to carry out an independent investigation.

"UNRWA is the primary humanitarian agency in Gaza, with over two million people depending on it for their sheer survival.  Many are hungry as the clock is ticking towards a looming famine," he said in the statement.