UK stops funding UN organisation following over Hamas attack

Some countries,like the UK, have stopped giving money to UNRWA, a group that helps Palestinian refugees.

After the company said some of its workers were fired because they were linked to the Hamas attacks on 7 October.

The UK government expressed shock and disapproval of Israel’s claims.

The US, Australia, Italy, Canada, Finland, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany have stopped giving extra money to the UN agency.

In 1949, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, was created. It is the largest UN agency working in Gaza.

It helps Palestinians by giving them health care, education, and other help in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. It hires about 13,000 people in Gaza.

Ever since Israel started fighting back after the attacks on 7 October, UNRWA has been providing shelter for many people who had to leave their homes in Gaza.

It says it is looking into the information from Israel.

Israel has said that the United Nations, including UNRWA, is unfair and has shown hatred towards Jewish people.

In an interview with the media, UNRWA’s former main spokesperson, Christopher Gunness, said that stopping aid to UNRWA was not fair and will only make things worse for people in Gaza.

Mr Gunness thinks UNRWA showed it has a strict policy by firing the workers before finishing their own investigation.

One million people who were forced to leave their homes are now staying near UNRWA buildings for safety. Mr Gunness said that the people will suffer because of this decision. The cutting of UNRWA services will also make the region less stable when Western governments are trying to prevent a big conflict in the area.

On Friday, a person who helps the leader of Israel said on the BBC that the Hamas attacks on 7 October involved “people who are getting paid by [UNRWA]”.

Mark Regev claimed that there was evidence indicating that teachers at UNRWA schools had openly celebrated the attacks on October 7th.

He also talked about an Israeli captive who, after being freed, said she had been “kept in the home of a person who worked for UNRWA”.

“They have a group that Hamas controls, and I think it’s about time for the UN to look into the connection between UNRWA and Hamas,” he said.

The accusations made big donors react.

“The UK government is shocked by claims that UNRWA workers took part in the attack on Israel on 7 October. The government strongly disapproves of this terrible act of terrorism. “

“The UK has stopped giving money to UNWRA for now while we look into some worrying claims,” it said.

Earlier, the US government said it will stop giving more money to the UN agency because they are worried about UN workers being involved in the attacks.

The EU said it will consider what to do next after a thorough investigation.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “shocked by this news”.

Philippe Lazzarini, who is in charge of UNRWA, said that they are doing a complete investigation to find out the truth as soon as possible.

“To make sure the agency can keep helping people in need, I have decided to fire these staff members right away,” Mr Lazzarini said.

He said that any employee involved in “acts of terror” will be held responsible.

Israel’s Foreign Minister, Israel Katz,wants to shutdown UNRWA in Gaza after the war.

However, Hussein Al-Sheikh, the Palestinian Authority’s minister for civilian affairs, said that when some countries stop supporting the important UN agency, it can cause big political and humanitarian problems.

Mr al-Sheikh asked Western donors to change their decision right away. He also said that we need the most help for this international organization.

The Deputy Prime Minister of Ireland, Micheál Martin, said that Ireland will not stop giving money to the agency. He said the agency helps2. 3 million people and many staff members have been killed while doing their work.

Hamas asked the UN and other organizations not to give in to Israel’s threats and blackmail. They said this in a message on Telegram.

Last year, Hamas attacked southern Israeli communities and killed about 1,300 people, mostly innocent civilians.

Another 250 people were captured and held against their will. Israel attacked Hamas in Gaza after certain events. This has led to the death of over 26,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry run by Hamas.

The US, Germany and the EU give a lot of money to UNRWA.

The agency is having a hard time delivering help to many of the 1. 7 million people who have been forced to leave their homes because of 12 weeks of fighting.

Several places in Gaza where people were seeking protection were bombed by Israel’s air force.

On Wednesday, a UN shelter in Khan Younis was hit, and 12 people died.