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The Director-General of the World Health Organization warned - yesterday, Wednesday - that stopping funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) would have “catastrophic consequences” for the residents of the Gaza Strip, which was devastated by the war.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, "The decisions taken by several countries to stop funding for UNRWA, the largest supplier of humanitarian aid in this crisis, will have catastrophic consequences for the people of Gaza."
He added, "No other entity has the capacity to provide the scale and scope of assistance that two million and 200,000 people in Gaza urgently need. We appeal to reconsider these decisions."
For his part, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stressed yesterday that UNRWA represents the "backbone" of aid in Gaza.
Guterres told a UN committee concerned with Palestinian rights, "Yesterday I met with donors to listen to their concerns and determine the steps we are taking to deal with them. UNRWA is the backbone of the humanitarian response in the entire Gaza."
UN agencies confirmed in a joint statement - last Tuesday - that suspending UNRWA funding "is a dangerous matter and may lead to the collapse of the humanitarian system in Gaza."
Source: Al Jazeera + Reuters + French