Great Britain, Italy and Finland announced on Saturday that they are suspending funding to the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA), reports Reuters, citing Agerpres, recalling that similar decisions were announced on Friday by the United States, Canada and Australia, after the allegations Israel regarding the involvement of some employees of the relevant organization in the Hamas attack on October 7 last year.

UNRWA Palestinian refugee camp in GazaPhoto: APAImages / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia

Switzerland also said on Saturday it would not take such measures until more information was received about the suspects’ role in UNRWA’s activities. The Swiss contribution to the agency is about 20 million francs, and the payment for the current year has not yet been approved.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz asked other countries to follow the example of the six that have already suspended UNRWA funding.

  • Also read: US, Australia and Canada suspend funding to UN agency for Palestine refugees after allegations of involvement in Hamas attack / Israel wants UNRWA to play no role in Gaza after war

Hamas denies any cooperation between its fighters and UN personnel, saying the Israeli accusations are “baseless”.

Matthew Miller, a spokesman for the State Department in Washington, said in a statement that 12 UNRWA suspects may be linked to an attack by the Islamist organization Hamas on Israel.

The United States was the first to announce that it would no longer fund the agency, which has 30,000 staff and provides shelter in the Gaza Strip to 1.4 million Palestinians out of an estimated 2.3 million living in the territory controlled by Hamas. .

  • Also read: “On any other day, this would be the headline.” Employees of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees are suspected of involvement in the Hamas attack on Israel

UNRWA, founded in 1948 to assist Palestinian refugees after the establishment of the State of Israel, now plays an important role in humanitarian aid in the context of the Israeli offensive in Gaza.

After Hamas killed 1,200 people in Israel on October 7, Israeli forces launched a bombardment of Gaza and a ground offensive, killing more than 26,000 Palestinians.

Bloody fighting between Israelis and Hamas continued in Gaza on Saturday, especially in the south; Palestinians who tried to flee to the north of the territory encountered bad weather.