Millions at risk as UNRWA faces funding shortfall: UN chief

United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres has issued an urgent appeal to member states to bridge a $100 million funding shortfall facing the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, warning that the lives and wellbeing of millions hang in the balance as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza deepens.

Addressing a high-level donor conference for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) on Tuesday, Guterres said the agency was confronting one of the gravest financial and operational crises in its history.

"As we meet here today, the safety and welfare of millions of Palestine refugees hangs in the balance," the UN chief said, urging countries to step forward with immediate financial support.

He warned that UNRWA's position had become increasingly precarious because of a severe cash crunch and sweeping restrictions imposed by Israel on the agency's operations across the occupied Palestinian territories.

Describing the humanitarian situation in Gaza as "utterly appalling", Guterres also pointed to escalating violence by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank and continuing Israeli strikes in Lebanon, where many Palestinian refugees have sought shelter.

"[UNRWA] faces sweeping restrictions throughout the occupied Palestinian territory. And a cash shortfall that imperils its work across the region," he said.

Established by the UN General Assembly in 1949 following the creation of Israel, UNRWA provides food aid, education, healthcare, social services and shelter to around 2.6 million Palestinian refugees across Gaza, the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

Mounting financial pressures have already forced the agency to scale back several operations. Guterres cautioned that any further funding cuts could "push conditions beyond breaking point", jeopardising its ability to fulfil a mandate that was overwhelmingly renewed by the UN General Assembly just six months ago.

The agency's financial troubles intensified after the United States, previously UNRWA's largest donor, suspended funding in January 2024 following Israeli allegations that a small number of agency employees participated in Hamas' 7 October 2023, attack on southern Israel.

A subsequent investigation by the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services concluded that nine employees may have been involved, while finding no evidence or insufficient evidence against the remaining 10 staff members named by Israel.

Guterres said UNRWA had responded by implementing governance reforms and strengthening its policies on external and political activities. Despite those measures, he argued, the agency continued to face coordinated attempts to undermine its work.

"UNRWA is a stabilising force in an age of instability," he said, accusing critics of targeting the agency through "disinformation, smear campaigns, legislative actions, operational restrictions, diplomatic roadblocks and more."

The UN chief also highlighted the heavy toll the conflict has taken on the agency itself, noting that 390 UNRWA personnel have been killed in Gaza since October 2023.

Echoing those concerns, Türkiye's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ahmet Yildiz, said UNRWA was facing unprecedented political pressure alongside physical attacks on its staff and facilities. According to Türkiye's state-run Anadolu Agency, Yildiz described Israel's actions as "blatant violations of international law" intended to deny Palestinian refugees their right to return to their homeland.

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the outcome of the donor conference and voluntary funding commitments from member states would be announced on Wednesday.