Government will overturn UNRWA funding suspension

THE Government will overturn the suspension of UK funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA), Foreign Secretary David Lammy has said.

Mr Lammy also stated that Israel is in “a tough neighbourhood” and civilians in Gaza are “trapped in hell on earth” as he vowed to advance the “cause of peace” in the region.

In January of 2024 the Foreign Office paused any future funding for UNRWA due to allegations that staff from the aid organisation had been involved in the October 7 Hamas attack which began the latest outbreak of violence in the Middle East.

In the nine months since, Israel has killed more than 38,600 people in the region according to the Gazan health ministry.

The war has created a humanitarian catastrophe in the coastal Palestinian territory, displaced most of its 2.3 million population and triggered widespread hunger.

UNRWA, which is the only UN agency dedicated to helping refugees from a specific region or conflict, faced allegations that 12 of their staff were involved in the October 7 attack on Southern Israel that killed 1,200 people.