UK, Finland, Italy join US in halt to UNRWA funds; Israel wants it replaced post-war

Britain, Italy, the Netherlands and Finland became the latest countries on Saturday to pause funding for the UN refugee agency for Palestinians (UNRWA), after the body said Friday that it had sacked “several” employees accused by Israel of involvement in Hamas’s October 7 massacre.

The United States, Australia and Canada had already paused funding to the aid agency, a critical source of support for people in Gaza, after the allegations by Israel. The agency said on Friday it had opened an investigation into several employees and severed ties with those people.

Encouraging more donor suspensions, Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Saturday UNRWA should be replaced once fighting in the enclave dies down and accused the agency of ties to Islamist terrorists in Gaza.