UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged countries to cover a $100m gap in funding for the UN Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, saying the body is nearing a breaking point after deep cost-cutting and austerity measures.

“They cannot keep going like this without urgent backing and financial support from member states,” Guterres told an ad hoc meeting of the General Assembly.

He noted that the agency had taken decisive steps to implement reforms following Israel’s accusations, including that some UNRWA staff members were involved in the October 7, 2023, attacks on southern Occupied Palestine, Al Jazeera reported. 

“UNRWA is a stabilising force in an age of ⁠instability,” he said, rejecting what he called continued efforts to undermine the agency through “disinformation, smear campaigns, legislative actions, operational restrictions, diplomatic roadblocks and more”.

UNRWA operates in Gaza, the occupied West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria, providing aid, schooling, healthcare, social services and shelter to 2.6 million Palestinians.

DID