Israel Guterres calls for more support for UN relief agency

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called for more support and better security measures for the Palestinian relief organization UNRWA. "Without the necessary support and funding from UNRWA, Palestinian refugees will lose an essential pillar and the last glimmer of hope for a better future," said Guterres at a donor conference in New York.

He also renewed his call on Israel and Hamas for a continued ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages. "Nothing justifies the horrific Hamas attacks of October 7. And nothing justifies the collective punishment of the Palestinian people," said Guterres. The chaos in Gaza affects every Palestinian there and all those who are desperately trying to help them.

"Nowhere is safe. Everywhere is a potential death zone," said Guterres. "It is high time for the parties involved to show the political courage and will to finally find an agreement."

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini put the necessary budget for the UN relief organization at around 1.2 billion dollars by the end of the year. Currently, only 20 percent of the funding has been secured, said Lazzarini.

The UNRWA mission to support Palestinians was founded in 1949. In addition to its activities in Gaza, the aid organization also works in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank.

UNRWA hit the headlines in January. Israel had accused twelve employees of the aid organization of being involved in the massacre in Israel on October 7. Another accusation was that the Islamist Hamas had infiltrated the aid organization as a whole. An audit report by independent experts concluded that UNRWA had established "robust" mechanisms to uphold its principle of neutrality. But there was room for improvement.

On Thursday, the Israeli embassy in Berlin announced that 108 UNRWA employees had been identified as being active in the terrorist organization Hamas. A list of their names had been presented to UNRWA chief Lazzarini, it added.

SDA