UNRWA has been vital in providing humanitarian services to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, but the agency was stripped of nearly $450 million of funding after top donors including the U.S. suspended payment in January in the wake of Israeli allegations against the agency.

Israel has accused the UN agency of employing over 450 “military operatives” from Hamas and other resistance groups, alleging that a dozen of them took part in the October 7 attack on Israel — a claim Israel has yet to back up with concrete evidence.

Since the initial withdrawal of funding, several countries, including Australia, Sweden and Canada have resumed their donation pledges to UNRWA as they have not seen any evidence backing Israel’s accusations.

UNRWA’s initial investigations have also found that some of its staff in Gaza were severely tortured and abused by Israeli forces and were forced into making false confessions to support Israel’s claims that the agency’s staff have ties to Hamas. 

The EU’s top humanitarian aid official, Janez Lenarcic, has confirmed that Israel did not present any evidence of the claims against UNRWA to him or any official at the EU executive or to any other donor.

The EU said early in March that it is going to pay $55 million in donation to UNRWA but will hold back nearly $35 million until the investigation into Israel’s allegations is resolved. 

“Even if those allegations, at the end of the day, prove to be true, that doesn’t mean that UNRWA is the perpetrator,” Lenarcic said.

“UNRWA has reacted properly, immediately, effectively. It took several measures. There is an investigation. There is a review. We are satisfied so far with all this,” Lenarcic added.

UNRWA has already fired nine of those employees, and is investigating the case of one. The remaining two staff members included in Israel’s allegations, were killed during the October 7 attack.

“UNRWA has of course a critical role to play here because it has unmatched infrastructure, warehouses, shelters, logistical capacities,” he said.

Lenarcic said more aid needs to enter the Gaza Strip by lorries and Israel should open additional land crossing points.

He added that the U.S. maritime corridor set from Cyprus to Gaza is “although a welcome addition, can only complement the land routes.”

“You cannot in current circumstances provide sufficient supplies by maritime routes or airdrops because there is no real port [in the Gaza Strip],” he added.