US says 'fundamental changes' needed before UNRWA funding resumes

By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.S. envoy to the United Nations said on Tuesday that Washington needs to see "fundamental changes" before its funding to UNRWA can resume following Israeli allegations that some agency staff were involved in the Oct. 7 attack by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., welcomed the UN's decision to conduct an investigation and review of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

She said: "We need to look at the organization, how it operates in Gaza, how they manage their staff and to ensure that people who commit criminal acts, such as these 12 individuals, are held accountable immediately so that UNRWA can continue the essential work that it's doing."

The Israeli accusations prompted a cascade of countries to halt funds for the agency. An Israeli intelligence dossier, seen by Reuters, includes allegations that some staff took part in abductions and killings during the Oct. 7 raid that sparked the Gaza war.

The dossier alleges some 190 UNRWA employees have doubled as Hamas or Islamic Jihad militants. The Palestinians have accused Israel of falsifying information to tarnish UNRWA, which says it has fired some staffers and is investigating the allegations.

Earlier on Tuesday, the U.N. Security Council expressed concern about the "dire and rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation" in the Gaza Strip and urged all parties to work with senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza, Sigrid Kaag.

The statement by the 15-member council came after Kaag briefed the body behind closed doors for the first time since she was appointed about a month ago.

Kaag said there was no substitution for the humanitarian role of UNRWA, which runs schools, healthcare clinics and other services in Gaza, as well as distributing aid.

"There is no way that any organization can replace or substitute the tremendous capacity, the fabric of UNRWA, the ability and their knowledge of the population in Gaza," Kaag told reporters after briefing the Security Council.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; writing by Kanishka Singh; editing by Rosalba O'Brien)