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Displaced Palestinians wait to receive UNRWA aid amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, March 7, 2024.
The US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield asked Canadian International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen to keep funding the UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA), Hussen told the Canadian Press.
Canada and the US joined 15 other countries in freezing funding for the humanitarian organization in January after Israel alleged that more than a dozen of the agency’s employees were involved in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack But Hussen in early March announced that Canada would resume payments.
He said this decision was made after hearing from Thomas−Greenfield. "She implored us to continue to engage UNRWA and to provide UNRWA with the support that it needs, in recognition of the lifeline that UNRWA provides to Palestinians," he said.
A US State Department spokesperson said in an email Wednesday that the US would not “publicly discuss content of our private diplomatic conversations.”
Sweden and the EU have joined Canada in resuming payments to the organization while the UK, Germany and other countries are waiting for more information on the allegations.
The US, the largest donor to the organization, will not be sending money any time soon. President Joe Bidenrecently signed a $1.2-trillion spending package that extends a moratorium on funding the Gaza agency for more than a year.
The agency reports that Israel is refusing to to allow urgently needed food aid to reach Palestinians. The UN has called for a cease-fire to prevent mass starvation in Gaza but negotiations have so far been inconclusive.
The pressure is on Biden to find a solution, because many Palestinians could starve if aid to Gaza continues to face roadblocks.