New Zealand becomes 13th major donor to snub UNRWA

Despite exhortations from UN chief Antonio Guterres for not ceasing funding to UNRWA, the list of nations censoring the body that deals with humanitarian aid to Palestinian refugees continues to grow. New Zealand is the latest to have suspended funding UNRWA. New Zealand became the 13th country to have done so, following most of the major donors such as the US and UK. These reactions started rolling out after Israel shared with the US last Friday a dossier detailing alleged complicity of UNRWA staffers in the October 7 massacre in cahoots with Hamas. Austria Monday became the 12th country to suspend funding for UNRWA. Over the last weekend, eleven UNRWA donor countries—the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Finland, France, Switzerland, and Japan—suspended funding to the agency considering the evidence provided by Israel. UN chief Antonio Guterres, meanwhile, has “strongly” urged these countries to lift the funding sanctions and “guarantee the continuity of UNRWA’s operations”. “The tens of thousands of men and women who work for UNRWA, many in some of the most dangerous situations for humanitarian workers, should not be penalised. The dire needs of the desperate populations they serve must be met,” Guterres said.