U.N. urges reversal of funding pause for Palestinian agency

DOHA, Qatar/GENEVA (Reuters) -- U.N. officials urged countries to reconsider a pause in funding for the U.N. agency for Palestinians on Sunday, pledging that any staff found involved in Hamas' attack on Israel would be punished and warning that aid for some 2 million people in Gaza was at stake.

At least nine countries, including top donors the U.S. and Germany, have paused funding for the UNRWA refugee agency after allegations by Israel that a dozen of its 13,000 staffers in Gaza were involved in the Oct. 7 rampage.

"While I understand their concerns -- I was myself horrified by these accusations -- I strongly appeal to the governments that have suspended their contributions to, at least, guarantee the continuity of UNRWA's operations," U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Sunday, promising to hold to account "any U.N. employee involved in acts of terror."

He said this could include criminal prosecution -- a rare move within the global body, since most staff enjoy functional immunity, although Guterres has the power to waive it.

Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA commissioner-general, also urged countries to "reconsider their decisions before UNRWA is forced to suspend its humanitarian response." A U.N. investigation into the Israeli allegations is underway.

More than 26,000 people have been killed in Israel's military campaign against Hamas in Gaza, the enclave's health ministry said. With flows of aid like food and medicine into the territory just a trickle of pre-conflict levels, deaths from preventable diseases as well as the risk of famine are growing, aid officials say.

Since the Oct. 7 attacks, which killed 1,200 people in Israel, most of Gaza's 2.3 million people have become more reliant on the aid UNRWA provides,