Italy to resume UNRWA funding amid worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza

Rome [Italy], May 25 : Italy has announced that it will restore the funding for the United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) months after it suspended aid to the agency over Israel's allegations linking UN staff to the October 7 attack, Al Jazeera reported on Saturday.

Rome joins several Western donors in resuming aid after an independent review of UNRWA, led by French former foreign minister Catherine Colonna, found that Israel had "not provided any evidence" to back its claims.

Hamas launched a massive terror attack on Israel on October 7 last year killing over 1200 people and around 250 being held hostages. Following this, Israel launched a strong counteroffensive in the Gaza Strip which has killed over 35,000 people including Hamas members as well as civilians including women and children.

Most of the key donors, including the United States and the European Union, have resumed funding due to the unprecedented humanitarian situation in Gaza, which was worsened by restrictions imposed by Israel on aid delivery.

"Italy has decided to resume financing specific projects intended for assistance to Palestinian refugees, but only after rigorous controls that guarantee that not even a penny risks ending up supporting terrorism," Italy's Vice President Antonio Tajani told Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa during a meeting on Saturday.

Tajani said he had informed the visiting premier "that the government has arranged new funding for the Palestinian population, for a total of 35 million euros (USD 38 million)".

"Of this, five million will be allocated to UNRWA," he said in a statement, with the remaining 30 million euros allocated to Italy's "Food for Gaza" initiative in coordination with other UN aid agencies.

Mustafa also held talks with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during which the Italian PM told Mustafa that Rome supported efforts towards a sustainable ceasefire in Gaza, the release of Israeli captives held by Hamas, and improved humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza, her office said in a statement, as reported by Al Jazeera.

The UNRWA, which coordinates nearly all aid to Gaza, has been in crisis since January, when Israel accused about a dozen of its 13,000 Gaza employees of being involved in the October 7 Hamas attack.

That led many nations, including top donor the US, to abruptly suspend funding to the agency, threatening its efforts to deliver aid in Gaza, leaving millions at risk of hunger and possible death.

Created in 1949, the UNRWA employs about 30,000 people in the Palestinian territories, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

Earlier this week, the UNRWA announced it would suspend food distribution in Gaza's southern city of Rafah, citing a lack of supplies and insecurity in the densely populated city. The Rafah crossing - the lifeline for humanitarian aid delivery - remains shut after Israel took control of the border with Egypt on May 7.

The UN World Food Programme has said that Palestinians in northern Gaza are experiencing "full-blown famine". Earlier this month, Israel resumed attacks in northern Gaza weeks after withdrawing its forces from there, according to Al Jazeera.

The International Rescue Committee and the organisation Medical Aid for Palestinians reported that in central Gaza displaced people are surviving on just 3 per cent of the internationally recognized minimum requirements of water.

At one shelter for displaced Palestinians, 10,000 people received just 4,000 litres (1,057 gallons) of water per day, "translating to about 0.4 litres per person, for drinking, washing, cooking and cleaning", the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) stated.

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