Italy on Saturday became the latest country to cut funding to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees after Israel accused several UNRWA staff of involvement in Hamas’ October 7 attack. .
“Following the brutal Hamas attack on October 7, the Italian government has suspended financing to UNRWA,” Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on X (formerly Twitter).
He added: “Our allies have made a similar decision. We remain committed to providing humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian population while safeguarding Israel’s security.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz said on Saturday that his country would seek to prevent UNRWA from operating in Gaza after the war.
Katz said Israel aims to “not have UNRWA joining the next day,” adding that it will try to rally support for the agency from the United States, the European Union and other major donors.
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Palestinian militant group Hamas on Saturday condemned Israel’s “intimidation” against UNRWA and called on the United Nations and other international organizations “not to succumb to intimidation and intimidation.”
UNRWA announced on Friday that it had fired several staff members accused by Israel of involvement in Hamas’s unprecedented Oct. 7 attack, and that the United States had cut off critical funding.
The Israeli government’s relentless shelling and siege of Gaza began immediately after an unprecedented attack by Hamas on October 7, which resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,140 people in Israel, the majority of them civilians. According to official Israeli statistics, AFP tally revealed that.
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The insurgents also captured about 250 hostages, and Israel said about 132 of them remained in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 28 dead prisoners.
Israel has vowed to crush Hamas, and the Gaza Health Ministry says Israeli military attacks have killed at least 26,083 people, about 70% of them women and children.
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