Canada set to resume UNRWA funding as Gaza famine looms

Canada is set to resume funding to the UN's Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA), going ahead with a scheduled payment to the agency next month.

The decision, which according to Canada's CBC is set to be announced on Wednesday, will see the government make a $25 million payment to UNRWA in April.

International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen will also announce new funding for the agency, CBC added citing a government source.

The decision to resume funding follows the government's review of an interim report from the UN that examined Israeli allegations against UNRWA.

Israel alleges that 12 of the agency's staffers took part in Hamas' 7 October attack, sharing documents with several states in January.

The allegations resulted in an announcement from Canada that it would suspend funding, which occurred alongside the US and several other donor countries. Many of the states that suspended aid did so before reviewing Israel's claims against UNRWA.

As well as scrutiny on UNRWA, which is currently undertaking an internal investigation alongside a UN investigation, Israel's claims have also been scrutinised.

This includes a Channel 4 review of the original Israeli document shared with UNRWA funders, which concluded that the document held no evidence to substantiate the claims.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and urged Israel to increase the flow of aid to ease what she called "inhumane" conditions and a "humanitarian catastrophe" for Palestinian people.

This is everything she said👇 pic.twitter.com/YbPZJ2iJTv

— The New Arab (@The_NewArab) March 4, 2024

Alongside Canada, other nations are reportedly considering resuming funding to the agency.

Japanese news agency Jiji reported that Japanese politician Masaaki Taniai, a member of governing coalition party Komeito, has officially asked Japanese vice minister for Foreign Affairs Kiyoto Tsuji to resume UNRWA funding.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Wednesday that Canberra will review its decision to suspend aid, saying "we will make an assessment at an appropriate time".

Since the US and other states suspended funding to UNRWA, conditions in Gaza have severely deteriorated, with famine looming across the strip and increasing numbers of children and elderly dying from starvation.

The decrease in aid deliveries into Gaza has prompted Jordan, the US and France to conduct airdrops of aid into the enclave.

Israel has imposed a siege on Gaza and has been accused of blocking aid into the coastal strip.

Israel's war on Gaza has killed 30,717 Palestinians, with a further 72,156 wounded since October.