DUBAI, February 2. /TASS/. Israel’s allegations that some employees of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) were involved in Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, are unfounded, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani said.
"A great number of countries donating to the agency suspended their assistance based solely on the Zionist regime’s unfounded allegations that some UNRWA employees were involved in Hamas’s October 7 operation," the diplomat wrote on X.
According to him, the countries that have suspended their funding "not only maintain political, trade and economic ties with the Zionist regime, providing it with military and financial aid, but they also stopped supporting the agency during the most difficult time for the residents of Palestine and the Gaza Strip based on the regime’s accusations against several UNRWA employees."
The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said on January 28 that the countries that had suspended funding for the UNRWA should stop sending weapons to Israel because the allegations against the agency were aimed at justifying restrictions against international humanitarian organizations active in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
Earlier, a number of countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada and the United States, announced the suspension of funding for UNRWA over its suspected links to the radical Palestinian movement Hamas. According to Bloomberg, Israel believes that up to 10% of all UNRWA employees were members of either Hamas or Islamic Jihad. UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini ordered the dismissal of several employees allegedly involved in the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East was established in 1949. Its mission is to provide medical, social and food aid, as well as education, to 5.9 mln refugees in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. UNRWA staff exceeds 30,000. The agency is managed by a commissioner general appointed by the UN secretary general. The organization is funded by donations from UN member states, the European Union and international NGOs and needs about $1.2 bln per year to be fully operational. UNRWA received $1.17 bln in 2022, with the US being its largest donor ($344 mln). Russia's donation amounted to $2 mln in 2022.