Guterres: UNRWA faces a $100 million funding shortfall following austerity measures and sharp spending cuts.اضافة اعلان
Guterres: The agency has reduced its service hours by 20% this year.
Results of the emergency meeting on voluntary contributions to be announced Wednesday.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called on the international community on Tuesday to cover a $100 million funding gap facing the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), noting that the agency is approaching a breaking point following austerity measures and sharp spending cuts.
Speaking at an emergency General Assembly meeting on voluntary contributions, Guterres said UNRWA's situation is worsening due to comprehensive restrictions imposed across the occupied Palestinian territories that hinder its work, alongside a severe lack of funding.
The UN agency operates in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria, providing aid, education, healthcare, and social services, as well as shelter for approximately 2.6 million Palestinians.
The United States was previously UNRWA's largest donor but halted its funding in January 2024 after Israel accused around 12 of the agency's employees of participating in the October 7, 2023 attack led by the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), to which Israel responded with a prolonged war in the Gaza Strip.
Sweden also cut its funding for the year 2025. Other major donors suspended their funding to UNRWA pending investigations into the allegations, though most have since resumed their donations.
Guterres stated that the agency's liquidity crisis has undermined its ability to fulfill its obligations under its mandate, which was renewed six months ago by the General Assembly with overwhelming support from members.
"They cannot continue like this without urgent support and financial assistance from member states," he said, noting that the agency has taken significant steps to implement reforms and update its policies regarding external and political activities following the Israeli allegations.
He added that "UNRWA represents a stabilizing force in an era of instability," rejecting what he described as ongoing efforts to undermine the agency through "disinformation, smear campaigns, legislative measures, operational restrictions, and diplomatic hurdles, among others."
Guterres noted that such actions threaten the well-being of millions of Palestinians as well as UNRWA staff, pointing out that 390 of the agency's employees have been killed in Gaza since October 2023.
He also mentioned that 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since the ceasefire announced last October.
Service Reductions
The United Nations stated that it dismissed nine UNRWA employees who may have been involved in the October 2023 attack, which resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals.
The UN denies any institutional links to Hamas and has pledged to investigate all allegations.
Guterres explained that UNRWA has reduced its service hours by 20% this year, cut local staff salaries, and left 15% of international positions vacant, adding, "Any further cuts could push the situation beyond the breaking point."
UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric stated that the agency is facing an existential crisis.
He added that the outcomes of the meeting dedicated to voluntary pledges will be announced tomorrow, Wednesday.
According to UNRWA's website, the agency received approximately $887 million in pledges and $829 million in contributions in 2025, covering only 27% of its total funding requirements of $3.3 billion.
Reuters
