Cutting aid to UNRWA: Political pressure or humanitarian crisis?

Two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that the U.S. is reviewing potential terrorism-linked sanctions against UNRWA, a decision that has, according to these sources, triggered significant legal and human rights concerns within the U.S. State Department.

The report indicates that discussions are at an advanced stage, with officials in the Trump administration evaluating the potential consequences of such sanctions. If implemented, the measures could have a profound impact on UNRWA’s operations across its areas of coverage.

UNRWA operates in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria, providing vital services including education, healthcare, social assistance, and emergency shelter for millions of Palestinian refugees.

Senior UN officials and members of the Security Council have described UNRWA as “the backbone of relief operations in Gaza,” a region facing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis following two years of conflict between Israel and the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas.

Despite this, the Trump administration has accused the UN agency of “ties to Hamas,” an allegation that UNRWA has strongly denied, calling it baseless.

The potential U.S. action traces back to Israeli allegations made in January 2024, claiming that around twelve UNRWA staff were involved in Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack.

Following these claims, the U.S.—previously the agency’s largest donor providing hundreds of millions of dollars annually—suspended its funding. The UN initiated investigations without dismissing any staff, emphasizing that Israel had not provided sufficient evidence. Later, after Israel failed to present conclusive proof, several European countries that had halted aid resumed their contributions to UNRWA.

Economic and humanitarian experts within the U.S. State Department have warned that such a move could severely disrupt relief operations in Gaza and Palestinian refugee camps across the region, with broad political, legal, and humanitarian repercussions.

A veteran U.S. diplomat told Reuters that the sanctions could “throw relief efforts into chaos” and raise questions about the sanctioning of U.S. partners.

William Dear, director of UNRWA’s Washington office, responded: “We would be dismayed by such a characterization; this step is both unprecedented and inappropriate.” He cited four independent investigations since January 2024—including one by the U.S. National Intelligence Council—that affirmed UNRWA as a “neutral and essential humanitarian actor.”

This potential U.S. action comes as the Israeli occupation regime has already restricted UNRWA’s operations in the occupied Palestinian territories and repeatedly bombed the agency’s schools, which were used as shelters for displaced persons during the conflict.