US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday urged UNRWA, the UN agency for “Palestinian refugees”, to address allegations its staff were involved in Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel.
At the same time, he distanced himself from calls for the end of UNRWA.
"UNRWA has played and continues to play an absolutely indispensable role in trying to make sure that men, women and children who so desperately need assistance in Gaza actually get it," Blinken told reporters, according to the AFP news agency.
"That only underscores the importance of UNRWA tackling this as quickly as effectively and as thoroughly as possible," he added.
The US announced on Friday it has temporarily paused funding to UNRWA following allegations that 12 of its employees may have been involved in Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel.
Washington’s announcement came after UNRWA commissioner-general Philippe Lazzarini announced that the UN agency has launched an investigation into the employees who were allegedly involved in the October 7 attacks, adding it has severed ties with those staff members.
The US was followed by Canada, Australia, the UK, and Finland who announced the suspension of aid to UNRWA.
On Saturday, Germany, Scotland, and the Netherlands announced that they would suspend funding for UNRWA. France followed suit on Sunday and Japan made a similar announcement as well.
The New York Times on Sunday published details on the accusations that Israel has levelled at workers of UNRWA.
According to the report, one of the UNRWA workers is accused of kidnapping a woman, another is said to have handed out ammunition and a third was described as taking part in the massacre at Kibbutz Be’eri, where 97 people were murdered.
The accusations are contained in a dossier provided to the United States government that details Israel’s claims against a dozen employees of UNRWA.