Israeli allegations on UNRWA 'distraction' from ongoing onslaught, WHO says

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

GENEVA (AA) — The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday urged countries to continue funding the UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA), calling Israeli allegations against the UN body a "distraction" from the ongoing onslaught in Gaza.

"The discussion right now is much of a distraction of what is going on every day, every hour in Gaza," WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier told a UN press briefing in Geneva.

Lindmeier was referring to recent allegations by Tel Aviv that some of UNRWA's staff were involved in the cross-border attack on Israel by Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7.

Arguing that while these claims should be investigated, he said they currently serve as a "distraction" from measures preventing an entire nation's access to food, water, and electricity.

They also distract from the "continuous shelling" of Palestinians in Gaza, even in designated safe areas, as well as from attacks on "shelters, schools, hospitals," he added.

At least 12 countries — Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Canada, Finland, Australia, UK, Netherlands, US, France, Austria, and Japan — have suspended funding for UNRWA, which was established in 1949 to help Palestinian refugees across the Middle East.

UNRWA said it terminated contracts with several employees following the Israeli allegations.

Israel launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, killing at least 26,637 Palestinians and injuring 65,387. Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The Israeli offensive has left 85% of Gaza’s population internally displaced 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.