Japan has suspended its funding to the UN relief agency in Gaza “for the time being” in response to allegations that members of its staff were involved in Hamas’ October 7 attacks, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Sunday.
“UNRWA plays a vital role in delivering essential humanitarian assistance to each and every resident (of Gaza). Against this backdrop, Japan is extremely concerned about the alleged involvement of UNRWA staff members in the terror attack on Israel on October 7 last year,” Foreign Press Secretary Kobayashi Maki said in the statement.
Japan will suspend funding while the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) conducts an investigation into the allegations, but will continue to provide support to other international organizations to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, the statement added.
An Israeli official told CNN on Friday that Israel shared information about 12 staffers allegedly involved in the October 7 attacks both with UNRWA and the United States. UNRWA fired several employees in the wake of the allegations, the exact details of which have not been made public.
Growing list: Japan joins a growing list of countries that have suspended funding for UNRWA, which employs around 13,000 people in Gaza, as the humanitarian disaster spirals in the besieged Palestinian enclave. The list includes:
- United States
- Germany
- France
- Canada
- Italy
- United Kingdom
- Netherlands
- Switzerland
- Australia
- Finland
Ireland and Norway say they will continue to fund the UN agency.
