Spain announces $22M in emergency aid to UN agency for Palestinian refugees

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) - Spain will send €20 million ($21.8 million) to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in emergency aid, Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares announced on Thursday.

Speaking at a joint news conference with UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini in Madrid, Albares said the agency, which serves 6 million Palestinian refugees in Gaza as well as in the broader region, is “indispensable,” especially in the "face of the catastrophe of Gaza.”

“This is literally a question of life or death for more than 2 million people living in Gaza,” he said, and also highlighted the looming famine that is beginning to kill children.

Israel has killed more than 30,800 Palestinians in Gaza since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas incursion, which claimed about 1,200 lives. The military campaign and siege have also led to mass displacement, destruction and shortages of food.

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said the agency is living “hand to mouth” as 16 countries moved to freeze $450 million worth of funding after Israel accused some of its workers of participating in the October attacks.

On March 1, the EU also released €50 million of aid to the organization, which Lazzarini said combines to give the organization enough time to stay afloat until April.

He said he was “horrified” by Israel's accusations of its members collaborating in the Hamas incursion, adding that Tel Aviv has not sent any evidence to back the claim, but the organization is still participating in an independent investigation.

He said UNRWA is undergoing an analysis by a Scandinavian institute to ensure its neutrality, whose report will be published on March 20 and he intends to implement all the recommendations.

Lazzarini said it seems Israel is trying to dismantle UNRWA “to undermine the future aspiration of Palestinian self-determination.”

He explained how UNRWA enshrines the right of Palestinian refugees to go home, as stipulated in a UN resolution.

Lazzarini said that before the war broke out, around 500-700 aid trucks could access Gaza daily, and that situation was still considered a blockade. Now, he said, fewer than 100 aid trucks are allowed in.

“The only efficient answer [to the humanitarian crisis] is political will,” he added.

Both Lazzarini and Albares emphasized the need for lasting peace and the creation of a Palestinian state.

Lazzarini said that since UNRWA offers the services of a state such as education, health and food support, the organization cannot be dismantled until Palestine is independent.

He said he was “optimistic” that more countries will move to restart funding as they see the importance of UNRWA’s work.