UNRWA likely to end operations in February if funding keeps halted

Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini to the United Nations (UN) Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said on Thursday that if international funding keeps being halted, the organization will “most likely be forced to shut down operations by the end of February” in all the region, not just in the Gaza Strip.

In a statement published by the UNRWA, which aids Palestine refugees in the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria, the organization reported that “famine is looming” in the north and it is known that “people in the area are grinding bird feed to make flour,” to compensate the lack of food supply. The UNRWA insisted that 2 million people’s lives in Gaza are in danger after 16 donor countries decided to cut economic aid.