Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday pleaded for donors to fund the embattled UN company for Palestinian refugees, warning there was no different regardless of Israeli criticism of the physique.
At a pledging convention, Guterres warned that struggling Palestinians would lose a “critical lifeline” with out the company referred to as UNRWA.
“Let me be clear — there is no alternative to UNRWA,” he stated.
“Just when we thought it couldn’t get any worse in Gaza — somehow, appallingly, civilians are being pushed into ever deeper circles of hell.”
Philippe Lazzarini, the chief of UNRWA, stated the company will probably be unable to operate past August with out receiving extra funding.
A UN emergency enchantment for $1.2 billion for the Palestinians by the top of the yr, together with an enchantment for neighboring international locations, has acquired lower than 20 % of the funding it wants, Lazzarini stated.
Israel, lengthy crucial of UNRWA, alleged in January that numerous the company’s staff participated within the October 7 assault by Hamas.
Israel has since ramped up strain on UNRWA, which fired the staff and promised to research.
According to Guterres, 195 UNRWA workers members have been killed within the conflict, the very best dying toll for employees in UN historical past.
The US Congress has barred additional funding for UNRWA. President Joe Biden’s administration has as an alternative directed funding for Palestinian civilians to different our bodies, whereas saying that UNRWA is uniquely geared up to distribute help.
The conflict began with Hamas’s October 7 assault on southern Israel which resulted within the deaths of 1,195 individuals, principally civilians, in response to an AFP tally primarily based on Israeli figures.
Israel responded with a navy offensive that has killed no less than 38,345 individuals in Gaza, additionally principally civilians, in response to the well being ministry in Gaza.
Source: www.anews.com.tr