UNRWA funding suspensions jeopardise lifeline for millions in Palestine

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is deeply alarmed by the decision of some countries to suspend their funding to UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, which is a lifeline for millions of Palestinians in Gaza Strip, the West Bank and the region.

In the Gaza strip, the humanitarian crisis has reached catastrophic levels, and any additional limitations on aid will result in more deaths and suffering. Humanitarian organisations are already grappling to meet even a fraction of the urgent needs in Gaza. Much more aid is required to meet those needs, not less. The consequences these cuts in funding will have on the ground contradict the provisional measures issued by the International Court of Justice on Friday 26 January, which include immediate measures to ensure sufficient humanitarian aid flows into Gaza.

MSF continues to call for an immediate and sustained ceasefire, and for the lift of the siege to allow increased and continuous humanitarian supplies to cross into Gaza for the nearly 2.2 million people in the enclave.