16 countries suspended their funding to UNRWA after Israel accused 12 of the agency's 13,000 employees in the Gaza Strip of participating in the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) attack on Israel on October 7. On Thursday, the head of the US Agency for International Development, Samantha Power, and other senior officials visited the state of Michigan.
The visit came amid widespread criticism of President Joe Biden’s policy regarding Israel, and his failure to call for a ceasefire in the attacks on Gaza.