UN chief fears for ‘millions’ of Palestinians amid UNRWA funding shortfall
Key takeaways
- Antonio Guterres denounces ‘disinformation, smear campaigns’ against the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.
- The UN chief said on Tuesday that UNRWA’s situation was increasingly precarious due to the large funding shortfall and sweeping restrictions by Israel on the agency’s work throughout the occupied Palestinian territory.
- “As we meet here today, the safety and welfare of millions of Palestine refugees hangs in the balance,” Guterres told a donor conference on the UN agency.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
Antonio Guterres denounces ‘disinformation, smear campaigns’ against the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.
xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogle Add Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Palestinian children, who fled with their parents from their homes in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ein el-Hilweh, gather in a UNRWA school in Sidon, Lebanon, in September 2023 [Mohammed Zaatari/AP]By Reuters, AFP and Al Jazeera Published On 1 Jul 20261 Jul 2026United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on countries to cover a $100m gap in funding for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, saying that millions of people are at risk due to the shortfall.
The UN chief said on Tuesday that UNRWA’s situation was increasingly precarious due to the large funding shortfall and sweeping restrictions by Israel on the agency’s work throughout the occupied Palestinian territory.