With an initial payment of $20 million, Sweden and Canada have announced that they will restore help to the financially stressed UN agency for Palestinians, provided that they receive guarantees of more oversight of its staff and expenditures. These were among the nations that cut off UNRWA’s funding after Israel charged over a dozen of its staff members with being involved in the Hamas attack on October 7th, which ignited the Gaza conflict. For 2024, the government has given UNRWA 400 million kroner. decision pertains to a 200 million kronor initial payment,” the Swedish government stated. UNRWA has consented to “allow controls, independent audits, to strengthen internal supervision and extra controls of personnel” in order to unlock the funding, according to the statement.
Sweden’s reassessment process
“Canada is resuming its funding to UNRWA so more can be done to respond to the urgent needs of Palestinian civilians,” stated Minister of International Development for Canada, Ahmed Hussen. In order to pursue accountability and reforms, Canada will continue to take the accusations made against a number of UNRWA employees very seriously and will continue to work closely with UNRWA and the UN. The decision was supposed to be announced by the Canadian government on Wednesday, but for reasons that were not immediately apparent, it was postponed. Earlier this month, the European Commission declared that it will release €50 million in financing for UNRWA. The majority of the 1,200 people who died as a result of Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7 were civilians.
Decision to resume funding
The health ministry of the region reports that around 30,800 individuals, predominantly women and children, have died as a result of Israel’s retaliatory operations in Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas. Five months into the war, the amount of supplies arriving in Gaza via trucks has drastically decreased. With nearly five months of Israeli bombardment, the United Nations has warned repeatedly of impending hunger in Gaza, where UNRWA is at the center of efforts to offer humanitarian help.
Following accusations made by Israel against the UN organization supporting Palestinians, over a dozen nations withdrew hundreds of millions of dollars in financing; but, weeks later, another major donor to the agency announced it will start up again. After foreign donors opened a maritime route to serve the beleaguered area experiencing widespread hunger after five months of conflict, Sweden reversed course just as a ship carrying tons of humanitarian food was getting ready to depart Cyprus for Gaza.
Implications and future outlook
Nikos Christodoulides, the president of Cyprus, said that the ship will leave “within the next 24 hours.” The founder of World Central Kitchen, José Andrés, stated that all required licenses, including those from Israel, had been obtained and that the only reason for the delay in leaving was the weather. As the UN agency known as UNRWA warns that it might collapse and leave Gaza’s already destitute population of over 2 million people with even less medical and other help, Sweden joined the European Union and Canada in making similar financing decisions. Johan Forssell, the Swedish minister of development, stated, “The humanitarian situation in Gaza is devastating and the needs are acute,” and he added that UNRWA has committed to tighter controls and more openness. UNRWA will get half of the $57 million in support from Sweden for this year, and more is on the way.
Response and reactions
Twelve of UNRWA’s hundreds of workers were accused by Israel of taking part in the October 7 Hamas assault, which resulted in the deaths of 1200 people and the kidnapping of over 250 more. Australia was among the nations which promptly cut off financing to UNRWA totaling over $677 million, or nearly half of the organization’s annual budget. In an effort to regain donor support, the UN has opened probes and UNRWA has started cooperating with external audits. Hunger-stricken Gaza residents scurried for food supplies dropped by US and Jordanian military planes on the eve of Ramadan. Humanitarian groups describe this mode of distribution as woefully insufficient in comparison to ground deliveries. Due to Israeli limitations and security concerns, the daily number of relief trucks that enter Gaza during the conflict has significantly decreased from the 500 that did so before to October 7.
In conclusion, According to the Gaza Health Ministry, two more individuals have perished from starvation, including a two-month-old baby, bringing the total number of Palestinians who had perished from hunger in the conflict to 25. According to Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra, the toll solely consisted of those who were admitted to hospitals.
