UNRWA faces $100 million funding shortfall, threatens aid for 2.6 million Palestinian refugees

U.N. Secretary‑General António Guterres warned that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) is approaching a breaking point. He urged donor nations to close a $100 million cash gap, saying the agency’s liquidity crisis jeopardises its ability to fulfill its mandate for 2.6 million refugees in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.

UNRWA has already cut service‑delivery hours by 20 percent, reduced staff salaries and left 15 percent of international posts vacant. The United States, its biggest donor, halted funding in January 2024 after Israel alleged that some UNRWA employees were involved in the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack; Sweden also reduced its contribution and other donors paused payments while investigations continued. The agency reports that 390 of its staff have been killed in Gaza since the war began.

Guterres said the agency has taken “decisive steps” to implement reforms and update its political‑activity policy, but warned that further cuts could push conditions beyond the breaking point. He described UNRWA as a “stabilising force in an age of instability” and urged urgent financial backing from member states to prevent a collapse of essential services such as schooling, healthcare, water and shelter.