EU commissioner urges donors to support UNRWA after release of report on allegation by Israel

By Aysu Bicer

LONDON (AA) - EU Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarcic urged donors Tuesday to rally behind the UN Palestine Refugee Agency (UNRWA) following the release of a comprehensive report on its neutrality during an attack on Israel.

The report conducted by the Independent Investigative Group, led by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, revealed Monday that Israel has not provided evidence to support claims that that 12 of the UN agency's employees directly took part in the Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas.

The allegations led to a massive funding deficit for the agency as several donor countries announced cuts.

Some countries later revised their decisions and resumed funding amid a crippling humanitarian crisis in the besieged enclave.

Lenarcic welcomed the findings, emphasizing the critical role of UNRWA as a lifeline for Palestinian refugees.

"I welcome the final report on neutrality of UNRWA, prepared by Colonna, underlining the Agency’s significant number of compliance systems in place as well as recommendations for their further upgrade," he said, highlighting the importance of maintaining UNRWA's neutrality to ensure effective humanitarian aid delivery.

"I call on donors to support UNRWA – Palestinian refugees' lifeline," he said.

Israel has waged a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since the cross-border attack by Hamas, which Tel Aviv said killed less than 1,200 people.

At least 34,151 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and 77,000 injured amid mass destruction and severe shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.