Japan became the latest country to halt its funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency on Sunday due to allegations that agency staff members participated in the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks against Israel.
The news comes after the agency’s largest donor, the United States, and the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, and others pulled their funding.
“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,” Japanese foreign press secretary Kobayashi Maki said in a statement. “In response, Japan has decided to suspend additional funding to UNRWA for the time being while UNRWA conducts an investigation into the matter and considers measures to address the allegations.”
Kobayashi promised that Japan remains committed to providing humanitarian aid to Gaza by other means but did not specify how. She also supported the U.N.’s investigation into the matter.
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While there was limited information on what the dozen accused staffers allegedly did during the Hamas attack, the UNRWA fired all the accused. One of the staffers was accused of harboring one of the Israeli hostages in their attic.
The UNRWA was founded shortly after the state of Israel was created. Its focus was on Palestinians, who at the time were recently displaced, with educational, healthcare, employment, and social services.
