More countries pull funding from UN agency over October 7 attack allegations

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Several countries including the UK, Italy and Finland have joined the US in suspending their funding for the UN agency that aids Palestinian refugees after allegations that its staff may have taken part in Hamas’s October 7 attacks in Israel.

UNRWA said on Friday that it had fired “several” employees and launched an investigation after receiving information from Israel about their alleged involvement. The US responded by halting funding for the agency.

Since the announcement, the UK, Italy, Finland, Australia and Canada have said they would also suspend funding.

The move piles pressure on to UNRWA, which has 30,000 employees, with 13,000 in Gaza alone. It is the primary agency for administering aid and running schools and hospitals for Palestinian refugees in the Middle East, including in the occupied West Bank and Gaza.

The UK Foreign Office said: “The UK is appalled by allegations that UNRWA staff were involved in the 7 October attack against Israel, a heinous act of terrorism that the UK government has repeatedly condemned.”

Antonio Tajani, the Italian foreign minister, posted on social media platform X: “The Italian government has suspended financing . . . after the atrocious attack on Israel on October 7.”

Norway, a major backer of Palestinians, said it would continue its financial assistance to UNRWA while awaiting the results of the investigation into the allegations.

“International support for Palestine is needed now more than ever,” Norway’s representative to the Palestinian Authority said on X. “We need to distinguish between what individuals may have done and what UNRWA stands for.”

Philippe Lazzarini, the UNRWA commissioner-general, urged the countries to reconsider their suspension before the agency was “forced to suspend its humanitarian response”.

“The lives of people in Gaza depend on this…