Israel-driven funding freeze forces UNRWA to halt Gaza health programs: Report

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 11 May 2025 10:55 AM

Israel-instigated funding freeze has forced the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to suspend vital health programs in Gaza, crushing the war-battered territory’s already collapsing healthcare infrastructure.

Al Awda Health and Community Association (AWDA) reported in a statement on Sunday that UNRWA has abruptly suspended contracts with multiple local hospitals and associations, jeopardizing thousands of essential medical procedures in Gaza.

The contracts covered natural births, C-sections, gynecological, general, and specialized surgeries since 2011, Al Awda said, adding that it performs around 1,000 procedures per month under these agreements.

The hospital association said it will maintain limited maternity and gynecological care through May but will be urgently seeking emergency funding.

It urged the Palestinian Health Ministry and partners to intervene to prevent a collapse in care.

Al Awda, formerly known as the Union of Health Work Committees (UHWC), is a Palestinian non-governmental health and development organization based in Gaza.

It is the third-largest healthcare provider in the besieged Gaza Strip, following the Ministry of Health and UNRWA.

The cuts follow a funding crisis sparked by unproven Israeli allegations in January 2024 that a handful of UNRWA staff were involved in Hamas’s October 7 operation against the Israeli regime.

The claims led the US, UK, Germany, and others to suspend aid for UNRWA, despite no public evidence.

Independent investigation by the UN has proven time and again that the Israeli regime’s accusation are false and are made to derail UNRAW’s mission.

Also, the Israeli regime’s parliament (Knesset) passed a law in October that banned UNRWA from activity within the occupied territories.

The Knesset also revoked the 1967 treaty that allowed UNRWA to carry out its mission. The ban has greatly restricted UNRWA’s ability to operate in Gaza and the occupied territories.

According to the Ministry of Health, the healthcare system in Gaza has completely collapsed due to the Israeli regime’s deliberate attacks on hospitals and medical centers.

The blockade imposed on Gaza since March 2 has also prevented any medicines or medical supplies from reaching Gaza and has plunged the region’s healthcare system into a catastrophic state.