United Nations chief Antonio Guterres defended the UN agency for Palestinian refugees as a "lifeline of hope and dignity" and called for increased aid in Gaza, AFP reports.
During his visit to Jordan's Vihdat refugee camp in the capital Amman, Guterres said it would be "cruel and incomprehensible" to stop UNRWA's vital services to Palestinian refugees across the region.
His remarks come at a time when the agency is facing a financial crisis after some key donor countries cut off funding following Israeli accusations that several UNRWA staff in Gaza were involved in the October 7 Hamas attack.
The head of the UN agency, Philippe Lazarini, said Israel had permanently banned it from making aid deliveries in northern Gaza, where the threat of famine is greatest.
Guterres called the decision to block UNRWA convoys "totally unacceptable" and said "it is now absolutely necessary to have massive deliveries of humanitarian aid, and that means opening more entry points."
The agency employs about 30,000 people in the Palestinian territories, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria, providing health care, education and other basic services.
"We must strive to preserve the unique services that UNRWA provides, because that sustains hope," Guterres said during his visit to the camp.
"In a dark world, UNRWA is the only ray of light for millions of people. I see that hope here. Now more than ever, we must not take that hope away," he added.
He also sought to "pay tribute to the 171 UNRWA women and men who have been killed in Gaza - the largest number of UN staff deaths in our history."
In January, Israel claimed that 12 of the agency's 13,000 staff in Gaza were involved in the 7 October attack on southern Israel.
Several governments suspended their contributions to the agency, although some have since resumed payments.
The United Nations launched both an internal and an independent investigation but said Israel had not provided it with any evidence to support the allegations against its staff.
According to Israeli figures, 1,160 people, mostly civilians, died as a result of the Hamas attack.
Israel has responded with a relentless military campaign that has so far resulted in the deaths of 32 226 people, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. / BGNES
