Intense bombing and airstrikes shook Gaza last night as negotiators worked towards a renewed ceasefire. The Palestinian health ministry reported that 128 additional individuals lost their lives in the besieged Gaza Strip due to heavy bombardment overnight. The war has plunged Gaza into a severe humanitarian crisis. One in four Palestinians in the territory faces starvation, according to UN officials as the fighting and Israeli restrictions hamper the aid operations.
To further cripple whatever little aid relief happening in the area, many nations including the United States have decided to withhold the funding to United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the agency millions of Palestinians depend on after they were uprooted from their homes by the occupation forces.
Talking at the Atlantic Council, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani said that the role of the UN is very important, particularly in the role of UNRWA. “We have been seeing the suffering that they have been facing with the cut of funding that’s happened to them, not now only, but even the shortage in funding that happened to them in the last few years.”
It is very vital that the funding of the agency is continued and in the current scenario it must be increased substantially to provide help to the millions of people who are suffering due to the brutal war which is killing and injuring thousands of women and children.
Qatar has time and again stressed the necessity of continuing and intensifying the relief efforts in the Gaza Strip, warning of the catastrophic repercussions of stopping the support for UNRWA.
Qatar considers UNRWA as an important UN agency and Qatar’s donations have increased during previous years. Qatar was also the first Arab country to sign a multi-year agreement with UNRWA in 2018 to support its main resources.
UNRWA was established in 1949 to provide humanitarian assistance and support to Palestinian refugees. Its role includes providing education, healthcare, relief, and social services to registered Palestinian refugees in Gaza, West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. The agency plays a crucial role in addressing the needs of Palestinian refugees and supporting their well-being.
UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food Michael Fakhri said that famine has become ‘inevitable’ in the Gaza Strip, after the decision of some countries to stop funding for UNRWA. Better sense should prevail, and the funding of the agency should restart, so that the collective punishment of the Palestinian people stops immediately.
