In response to the growing movement to suspend funding to UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees), which is responsible for aid in the Gaza Strip, Secretary-General Lazzarini announced support at a ministerial-level meeting of the European Union (EU) on the 12th. appealed for its continuation.
Several EU member states, including Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden, have announced that they will temporarily suspend UNRWA funding after some UNRWA staff were suspected of being involved in Hamas attacks on Israel. In addition, the EU has said that its decision on funding from next month onward will be reviewed in light of the results of a United Nations investigation.
Against this backdrop, UNRWA Director-General Lazzarini attended a meeting in Belgium on the 12th with ministers in charge of development cooperation from EU member states and appealed for continued support.
At a press conference after the meeting, Lazzarini said there was "spread panic and anxiety" about Israel's readiness to carry out a ground operation in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.
He appealed to the EU and other countries to support UNRWA's activities, arguing that if UNRWA were unable to operate, many children who were deprived of educational opportunities would grow in hatred, making regional peace and stability even more difficult.