TEL AVIV, February 4. /TASS/. Israel is working on the suspension of the activities of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in the Gaza Strip, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said.

"UNRWA, entangled with Hamas’ terrorist activities in Gaza, perpetuates the false narrative of Palestinian ‘refugees’ needing to return to Israel. We are actively working to disengage UNRWA from Gaza. They are a part of the problem and not a part of the solution," he wrote on his X page.

According to earlier reports, a number of countries, including Austria, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and Germany, announced their decision to suspend financing for the UNWRA following reports about suspected links of some of the agency’s employees with Hamas. UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini ordered to dismiss several agency employees due to their alleged connection to the Hamas attack on Israel last year.

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.