Italy has announced it will restore funding to the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) months after suspending aid to the agency following Israeli allegations linking UN staff to the deadly attack of October 7.
Rome joins several Western donors in resuming aid after an independent review of UNRWA, led by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, found Israel provided no evidence to support its claims .
Israel launched a brutal military offensive following the October 7 attack, killing more than 35,000 Palestinians. Up to 1,100 people were killed and around 250 people were captured in the attack in Israel claimed by the Hamas group.
The Palestinian enclave remains in ruins after nearly eight months of Israeli war.
Most major donors, including the United States and the European Union, have resumed funding due to the unprecedented humanitarian situation in Gaza, compounded by Israeli restrictions on aid delivery.
“Italy has decided to resume financing specific projects intended to assist Palestinian refugees, but only after rigorous controls ensuring that not even a cent risks ending up supporting terrorism,” Antonio Tajani told Prime Minister Palestinian Minister Mohammad Mustafa during a meeting on Saturday.
Tajani said he had informed the visiting prime minister “that the government has put in place new funding for the Palestinian population, totaling 35 million euros ($38 million).”
“Of this sum, five million will be allocated to UNRWA,” he said in a statement, with the remaining 30 million euros being allocated to the Italian “Food for Gaza” initiative, in coordination with other United Nations humanitarian agencies.
Mustafa also held talks with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, during which the Italian Prime Minister told Mustafa that Rome supports efforts aimed at a lasting ceasefire in Gaza, the release of Israeli captives held by Hamas and greater humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza, his office said in a statement .
UNRWA, which coordinates almost all aid to Gaza, has been in crisis since January, when Israel accused about a dozen of its 13,000 employees in Gaza of being involved in the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7. .
This led many countries, including the United States, the largest donor, to abruptly suspend funding to the agency, threatening its efforts to deliver aid to Gaza, leaving millions at risk of starvation. and possible death.
Established in 1949, UNRWA employs approximately 30,000 people in the Palestinian territories, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
“A total famine”
UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini called the moves to cut off funding “additional collective punishment” for Palestinians already reeling from relentless Israeli bombing.
The UN special rapporteur on Gaza, Francesca Albanese, also called the decision to cut funding “immoral” amid widespread famine and a health crisis in the besieged Palestinian territory.
As news of the restoration of funding broke, Gaza faced constant bombardment overnight, preventing the provision of UN services in many parts of the territory.
Earlier this week, UNRWA announced it would suspend food distribution in the southern Gaza town of Rafah, citing lack of supplies and insecurity in the densely populated town. The Rafah crossing – the lifeline for the delivery of humanitarian aid – remains closed after Israel took control of the border with Egypt on May 7. Limited aid supplies have entered Gaza since May 6, some via a temporary U.S.-built dock, but it is not enough to meet growing needs.
The United Nations World Food Program said Palestinians in northern Gaza are experiencing “widespread famine.” Earlier this month, Israel resumed attacks in northern Gaza weeks after withdrawing its forces.
Meanwhile, Tel Aviv Tribune’s Hani Mahmoud, who covers the Deir el-Balah area in central Gaza, reported that attacks continued on Saturday near the Kuwaiti hospital, including the refugee camp in Shaboura.
Artillery bombardments hit the surroundings of the camp, preventing ambulances from reaching the hospital.
“Step by step, another health facility is being knocked out of service as the Israeli army approaches the main roads leading to the Kuwaiti hospital,” our correspondent said.
No hospitals are currently accessible in northern Gaza, the World Health Organization reports, and as of Friday only al-Awda Hospital was “considered partially functional” in the north, although it is also inaccessible due to Israeli military operations.
The International Rescue Committee and Medical Aid for Palestinians reported that in central Gaza, displaced people survive on just 3 percent of the internationally recognized minimum water requirements.
In a shelter for displaced Palestinians, 10,000 people received only 4,000 liters (1,057 gallons) of water per day, “or about 0.4 liters per person, for drinking, washing, cooking and cleaning,” according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. (UN OCHA).
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