Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) has pledged 40 million dollars (Rs 3,32,50,42,000) to support the emergency appeal of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in the Gaza Strip.
On Wednesday, March 20, KSrelief Supervisor General Abdullah Al Rabeeah signed a financial support memorandum with the UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini via video call.
Under the agreement, the food security sector will be supported for the residents of Gaza, as 250,638 Palestinians from the most needy groups will benefit from it, in addition to providing shelter and non-food materials to 20,019 families, representing 200,190 individuals.
This comes within the framework of the tireless efforts made by the Kingdom through the center to provide relief to the affected Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, in order to alleviate their suffering as a result of the current humanitarian crisis they are going through.
US Congress bars UNRWA funding
Meanwhile, US Congress and White House have agreed to continue a ban on funding UNRWA until March 2025, according to sources on Wednesday.
Two sources familiar with the agreement told Reuters that funding for the agreement will be blocked for a year, with alternative humanitarian aid approaches to be discussed after the legislation is publicly disclosed.
Since January 26, 18 countries including US suspended UNRWA funding amid Israeli allegations that its employees took part in the Hamas surprise attack on October 7, 2023.
This March, Canada, Australia, EU and Sweden have resumed funding for UNRWA, while Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia have increased their support for the relief agency.
The Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip is escalating, particularly in the northern and central regions, which are on the brink of a catastrophic famine.
Israel’s war on Gaza since October 7 has left more than 31,900 dead, infrastructure destroyed, and Tel Aviv facing charges of “genocide.”
