UN refugee agency halting funds in Gaza will be ‘catastrophic’: UN bodies

Cutting off funding to the United Nations' Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA will have "catastrophic consequences" for Gaza, the heads of multiple UN bodies said

Cutting off funding to the United Nations' Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA will have "catastrophic consequences" for Gaza, the heads of multiple UN bodies said in a joint statement Wednesday.

A man collects trash while wearing a jacket bearing the logo of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) (AFP/Representational image)

"Withdrawing funds from UNRWA is perilous and would result in the collapse of the humanitarian system in Gaza, with far-reaching humanitarian and human rights consequences in the occupied Palestinian territory and across the region," said the statement from heads of organisations that form the UN Inter-Agency Standing Committee.