Spain to release urgent funding for UNRWA

Spain said Monday that it would give an additional 3.5 million euros ($3.8 million) in aid to the the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which is facing a cash crunch after several nations suspended their funding.

Over a dozen countries, including major donors the United States, Germany, Britain and Sweden, have suspended their funding to the agency over accusations that 12 of its staff members were involved in the October 7 attack on the Zionist entity.

The UNRWA — which has received a Norwegian nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize — has warned that it will have to cease operations by the end of February if the funding is significantly pulled.

“Spain will release an urgent envelope of 3.5 million euros so that UNRWA can maintain its activities in the short term,” Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Luis Albares told a parliamentary committee.

“UNRWA’s situation is desperate and there is a serious risk that its humanitarian activities will be paralyzed in Gaza within a few weeks,” he said. European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Sunday that suspended total funds currently amount to “more than $440 million, or around half the agency’s expected funds for 2024”.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last week that the UN agency had been “totally infiltrated” by Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007. The Zionist entity has responded to the October 7 attack with an air and ground offensive that has killed 27,365 people, mostly women and children, according to a Gaza health ministry toll updated Sunday. Spain is one of the most critical voices in Europe of the Zionist offensive.