A Saudi-funded humanitarian agency pledged on Wednesday to boost the kingdom's funding to the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) by $40 million, according to a statement.
The donation by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief), which is dedicated to Gaza, comes as UNRWA faces a severe funding crunch © Mena Today
A Saudi-funded humanitarian agency pledged on Wednesday to boost the kingdom's funding to the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) by $40 million, according to a statement.
The donation by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief), which is dedicated to Gaza, comes as UNRWA faces a severe funding crunch after the United States and Britain paused support following Israel's accusations that a dozen of its 13,000 staff in Gaza took part in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on the country.
UNRWA manages shelters, and provides food and healthcare for nearly 2 million people in Gaza, according to its website.
A U.N.-backed report warned on Monday that northern Gaza faced imminent famine and as global pressure mounts on Israel to allow more humanitarian aid into the enclave of 2.3 million people.
Canada, Australia, and Sweden have recently restored funding to UNRWA, while several Gulf countries, in addition to Saudi Arabia have increased funding.
But that still may not be enough. "The U.S. is our largest, largest donor so no amount of compensation by other donors, as generous as they are, can actually fill the gap that is left by the U.S.," said Tamara al-Rifai, an UNRWA spokesperson.
Saudi Arabia previously announced a $2 million contribution to UNRWA in October, while KSrelief provided $15 million to the agency in November.
Reporting by Pesha Magid
More than 1.7 million Muslim pilgrims gathered in the valley of Mina near Mecca on Wednesday to perform the Stoning of the Devil, the final major ritual of the Hajj, on the first day of Eid al-Adha, as fears of a renewed Middle East conflict cast a shadow over the world's largest annual gathering.
Israel said on Tuesday it had attacked Hamas’ new armed wing chief, who it said was appointed just days earlier after Israel killed his predecessor, as it steps up military pressure in Gaza and expands ground operations in Lebanon.
Israel's largest defence contractor is developing hardware to combat explosive Hezbollah drones that have killed Israeli troops in southern Lebanon, including through the potential use of laser-based defence systems, its CEO told Reuters on Tuesday.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.