Qatar says it will keep funding UN Palestinian refugee agency

ISTANBUL

Qatar said Monday it will continue its funding to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees of UNRWA amid Israeli accusations against the agency.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani met in Doha with Philippe Lazzarini, the agency's head.

“Qatar will continue its support for UNRWA, whose responsibilities have doubled in light of the current catastrophic humanitarian situation facing Gaza’s innocent civilian population,” he said in statements carried by the state news agency QNA.

“Qatar is keen on continuing the dispatch of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip in a sustainable and unhindered manner,” he added.

Bin Abdulrahman warned of “catastrophic consequences” over suspending funds for the UN refugee agency.

Lazzarini, for his part, hailed Qatar's "generous and unwavering support” for UNRWA to meet the emergency humanitarian needs of the Palestinians in Gaza.

Since Jan. 26, several countries have suspended UNRWA's funding after Israel alleged that some of the agency's employees were involved in the Hamas attack of Oct. 7.

The agency said it terminated contracts with several employees following the Israeli allegations.

Israel launched a deadly offensive on Gaza following the Oct. 7 attack, so far killing at least 27,478 Palestinians and injuring 66,835 others, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The Israeli offensive has left 85% of Gaza's population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar