BY EMMANUEL OGBONNA
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has issued an urgent appeal to member states to help close a $100 million funding gap threatening the operations of the U.N. agency responsible for assisting Palestinian refugees, warning that the organization is approaching a critical breaking point after months of severe budget cuts and austerity measures.
Speaking on Tuesday during an ad hoc meeting of the U.N. General Assembly focused on voluntary contributions, Guterres said the financial position of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) had become increasingly fragile. He stressed that the agency is struggling not only with a major cash shortfall but also with sweeping operational restrictions across the occupied Palestinian territories that have significantly hindered its ability to carry out humanitarian work.
UNRWA operates across Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, providing essential services including emergency aid, healthcare, education, shelter and social assistance to approximately 2.6 million Palestinian refugees. The agency has long served as one of the primary humanitarian lifelines for vulnerable Palestinian communities throughout the region.
Guterres warned that the organization’s worsening liquidity crisis now threatens its ability to fulfill the mandate overwhelmingly renewed by the U.N. General Assembly just six months ago. He said member states must act quickly to ensure the agency can continue delivering critical humanitarian services.
“They cannot keep going like this without urgent backing and financial support from member states,” Guterres said, emphasizing that UNRWA has implemented significant reforms in response to concerns raised over the past year. According to the secretary-general, the agency has strengthened oversight measures and updated its policies governing outside activities and political conduct following allegations made by Israel against some of its employees.
Funding challenges intensified after the United States, previously UNRWA’s largest donor, suspended financial support in January 2024. The decision followed Israeli allegations that around a dozen UNRWA employees had participated in the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel, which killed roughly 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals and triggered the ongoing war in Gaza.
Several other major donor countries also temporarily halted funding while investigations into the allegations were conducted. Although many of those governments have since restored their financial contributions, Sweden ended its funding for 2025, leaving the agency with continued budgetary pressures.
The United Nations has confirmed that it dismissed nine UNRWA employees who may have been involved in the October 2023 attack after an internal investigation. Separately, a Hamas commander killed by Israel in Lebanon in September was later found to have also held a position with the agency. U.N. officials have maintained that they take all allegations seriously, have pledged to investigate every credible claim and have rejected broader accusations attempting to portray the agency as affiliated with Hamas.
Guterres defended UNRWA’s humanitarian role, describing the organization as a vital source of stability during one of the region’s most volatile periods. He criticized what he described as sustained efforts to weaken the agency through misinformation campaigns, legislative measures, diplomatic obstacles and operational restrictions.
“UNRWA is a stabilizing force in an age of instability,” he said, arguing that attempts to undermine the agency ultimately place millions of Palestinian civilians at greater risk while also endangering humanitarian workers operating under increasingly dangerous conditions.
The secretary-general noted the heavy toll the conflict has taken on UNRWA personnel. Since October 2023, 390 agency staff members have been killed in Gaza, making it one of the deadliest periods in the organization’s history. He also said that approximately 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since a ceasefire announced in October, underscoring the continued humanitarian challenges facing civilians.
To cope with its worsening financial position, UNRWA has already implemented extensive cost-saving measures. Guterres said the agency has reduced service delivery hours by 20%, cut salaries for locally employed staff and left around 15% of international positions vacant in an effort to preserve essential operations.
He cautioned that any additional reductions would have serious consequences for humanitarian assistance across the region, warning that further budget cuts could push already strained services beyond their operational limits.
U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric described the agency as facing an “existential crisis” and said the outcome of Tuesday’s donor meeting would be announced on Wednesday, offering an indication of whether member states are prepared to provide the emergency financial support needed to stabilize UNRWA’s operations.
According to figures published by the agency, UNRWA has received approximately $887 million in funding pledges and $829 million in actual contributions during 2025. However, those commitments represent only about 27% of its estimated $3.3 billion funding requirement, leaving a substantial gap that U.N. officials say must be addressed urgently to prevent further reductions in humanitarian services for millions of Palestinian refugees.
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