UNRWA Says Unable to Assist Gaza After February if Funding Does Not Resume 

Palestinian employees of United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) take part in a protest against job cuts (Reuters)
Palestinian employees of United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) take part in a protest against job cuts (Reuters)
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UNRWA Says Unable to Assist Gaza After February if Funding Does Not Resume 

Palestinian employees of United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) take part in a protest against job cuts (Reuters)
Palestinian employees of United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) take part in a protest against job cuts (Reuters)

The United Nations Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) said on Monday that it would not be able to continue operations in Gaza and across the region beyond the end of February if funding were not resumed. 

A string of countries including the United States, Germany and Britain have paused their funding to the aid agency in the wake of allegations that 12 UNRWA staff were involved in the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas in southern Israel. 

"If the funding is not resumed, UNRWA will not be able to continue its services and operations across the region, including in Gaza, beyond the end of February," a spokesperson for the agency said. 

On Sunday, Japan was the latest country to suspend funding. 

The agency has fired several staff over Israel's accusations and promised a thorough investigation into the claims, which were not specified, while Israel has vowed to stop the agency's work in Gaza after the war.   

Japan said it was "extremely concerned about the alleged involvement of UNRWA staff members in the terror attack on Israel on October 7 last year."  

"In response, Japan has decided to suspend additional funding to UNRWA for the time being while UNRWA conducts an investigation into the matter and considers measures to address the allegations," a foreign ministry statement said, reported AFP. 

"At the same time, Japan will continue to make persistent and active diplomatic efforts to improve the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and to calm down the situation as soon as possible by providing support to other international organizations," it added. 



Iran’s Supreme Leader Says Syrian Youth Will Resist Incoming Government

A defaced portrait of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is seen in Damascus, Syria, 18 December 2024 (issued 22 December 2024). (EPA)
A defaced portrait of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is seen in Damascus, Syria, 18 December 2024 (issued 22 December 2024). (EPA)
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Iran’s Supreme Leader Says Syrian Youth Will Resist Incoming Government

A defaced portrait of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is seen in Damascus, Syria, 18 December 2024 (issued 22 December 2024). (EPA)
A defaced portrait of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is seen in Damascus, Syria, 18 December 2024 (issued 22 December 2024). (EPA)

Iran's supreme leader on Sunday said that young Syrians will resist the new government emerging after the overthrow of President Bashar sl-Assad as he again accused the United States and Israel of sowing chaos in the country.

Iran had provided crucial support to Assad throughout Syria's nearly 14-year civil war, which erupted after he launched a violent crackdown on a popular uprising against his family's decades-long rule. Syria had long served as a key conduit for Iranian aid to Lebanon's armed group Hezbollah.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said in an address on Sunday that the “young Syrian has nothing to lose" and suffers from insecurity following Assad's fall.

“What can he do? He should stand with strong will against those who designed and those who implemented the insecurity," Khamenei said. “God willing, he will overcome them.”

He accused the United States and Israel of plotting against Assad's government in order to seize resources, saying: “Now they feel victory, the Americans, the Zionist regime and those who accompanied them.”

Iran and its armed proxies in the region have suffered a series of major setbacks over the past year, with Israel battering Hamas in Gaza and landing heavy blows on Hezbollah before they agreed to a ceasefire in Lebanon last month.

Khamenei denied that such groups were proxies of Iran, saying they fought because of their own beliefs and that Tehran did not depend on them. “If one day we plan to take action, we do not need proxy force,” he said.