What does restored funding mean for UNRWA’s future?

Two possible futures have been presented for the United Nations’ main agency for Palestinian refugees, though both its supporters and detractors seem to agree that the biggest aid organization in Gaza is “at risk of death.”

That was the dire assessment of Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) after 16 donor countries suspended their funding amid accusations by Israel that some of its employees had been involed in the Oct. 7 attack orchestrated by the militant group Hamas. 

But after Canada and Sweden both announced they were resuming contributions to UNRWA, Lazzarini said he was “cautiously optimistic” others would also soon reconsider — allowing the agency to continue its work. 

UNRWA has been running schools and shelters for Palestinians in Gaza since 1949, and during the current conflict, its role has broadened to supply whatever aid it can deliver. 

But Israel’s Foreign Ministry called Ottawa and Stockholm’s decisions a “serious mistake,” and its military told local media it will nonetheless work to “dismantle” the UN agency and replace it with an unnamed alternative.

What are Israel’s accusations?

In late January, Israel presented an intelligence dossier to the UN and distributed it to UNRWA’s major donor countries, alleging that 12 of the agency’s 13,000 employees in Gaza participated in the October attack on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and saw some 250 Israelis taken captive. Seven of the UNRWA staff actually stormed across the border, the document said. Israel said many more are “hardened” militants.

The workers were named and the file, which was not made public, included their photos. One video which was released, showed a man who Israel says is employed as a teacher, removing the body of an Israeli soldier from a border community. Another is accused of participating in a kidnapping. 

Last week, Israeli army spokesman Daneil Hagari ramped up the charge, saying “over 450 UNRWA employees are military operatives in terror groups,” including Hamas and other armed organizations, though he presented no evidence. 

UNRWA’s Lazzarini says he has previously “never received the slightest concern” from Israel about its staff.

Some UNRWA workers who were detained by Israel and released back into Gaza said they were “subject to threats and coercion by…