The UN Security Council called for urgent action to expand the flow of humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza.
The council on Tuesday issued a statement expressing concern at "the dire and rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation" in the conflict-wracked territory.
The council urged all parties to engage with the UN’s new humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza, Sigrid Kaag. She is trying to accelerate aid deliveries to hundreds of thousands of civilians desperately in need of food, water, medicine and other assistance.
The brief council statement was read to reporters after the 15 council members met with Kaag behind closed doors.
Kaag later told reporters she was "very encouraged" by support from the council, which created her post to respond to the humanitarian conditions in Gaza. According to multiple UN agencies, more than half a million people in Gaza are facing "catastrophic hunger."
She also said the embattled UN agency serving Palestinian refugees is critical.
"No organization can replace or substitute the tremendous capacity, the fabric of UNRWA, the ability, and their knowledge of the population in Gaza," she stressed.
Many key donors, including the United States and Germany, suspended funding to UNRWA after an Israeli detailed allegations that 12 of its employees were involved in the Oct. 7 cross-border raid that triggered Israel’s war against Hamas.
The Israeli government has accused Hamas and other militant groups of siphoning off aid and using UN facilities for military purposes.
UNRWA denies those allegations and says it took swift action against the employees accused of taking part in the attack.
Meanwhile, the US State Department said it expects to resume funding to UNRWA provided it conducts a credible investigation into possible links between some of its employees and Hamas.
UN officials have warned that UNRWA will have to halt operations by the end of February if funding is not restored.
UNRWA is the biggest aid provider in Gaza, where Israel’s war against Hamas has displaced the vast majority of the population and plunged it into a humanitarian catastrophe. The US is the largest single donor, giving over $300 million, or one-quarter of the agency’s annual budget.
State Department Matthew Miller said Tuesday that the US had planned to send about $300,000 in the coming weeks but gave no details on when funding might be restored.
Israel has long claimed that Hamas uses UNRWA facilities to store weapons or launch attacks, and that agency employees teach hatred of Israel in their schools. UNRWA says it does not knowingly tolerate such behavior and has internal safeguards to prevent abuses and discipline wrongdoing.
