Guterres urges countries to fill $100 million UNRWA funding gap
Guterres warned that a $100 million UNRWA gap could squeeze aid, schools and clinics for 5.9 million refugees as donor support remained fragile.
António Guterres urged governments to close a $100 million UNRWA funding gap as the Palestinian refugee agency warned it was nearing a breaking point. The shortfall threatens aid, schooling, healthcare, social services and shelter for about 5.9 million registered Palestine refugees across Gaza, the West Bank including East Jerusalem, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria, where war, spillover violence and political fragility are already straining civilian life.
The appeal came as the United Nations gathered donors at UN headquarters in New York for a pledging conference in the Trusteeship Council Chamber. Attending were Guterres, Annalena Baerbock, the president of the General Assembly, and Christian Saunders, who was serving as UNRWA’s acting commissioner-general. UNRWA entered 2025 with no reserves and $35 million in liabilities.
The money crisis deepened after Israel accused roughly a dozen UNRWA staff members of taking part in the October 7, 2023 attack. The United States halted funding in January 2024, and Sweden cut its 2025 contribution, while other donors paused support during the investigation. Most have since resumed, but the agency is still carrying the political and financial fallout from the allegations. UNRWA has moved to reform its rules on outside and political activities.
UNRWA has already cut service delivery hours by 20 percent this year, reduced salaries for local personnel and kept 15 percent of international posts vacant. Guterres said those steps were not enough, and warned that any further cuts could push the agency beyond the breaking point. He also said 390 UNRWA staff members had been killed in Gaza since October 2023.
The General Assembly last renewed UNRWA’s mandate in December 2022 through June 30, 2026, and Saunders took over as acting commissioner-general on July 1 after Philippe Lazzarini’s term ended. The operating environment has rapidly deteriorated across the Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank including East Jerusalem, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, leaving the agency to manage month by month with no cushion left.
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