TRANSCRIPT
Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong says she's asked Israel for further evidence that United Nations aid staff were involved in the Hamas terror attack of October 7.
Australia is among several countries, such as the US, the UK and Switzerland, that have suspended funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency after it announced it would investigate Israel's allegations that some of its staff played a part in the attacks or had links to Hamas.
Senator Wong has told the ABC UNRWA accepts the allegations are serious and she's asked Israel to provide its evidence.
"UNRWA itself acknowledged that those allegations were serious. I think it is incumbent upon me as Australia's foreign minister to ensure that every dollar of aid that we provide is being used for the appropriate purposes but if there is, if the Israelis, I haven't seen all of the British reporting that you describe, and there's a lot of reporting, but if the Israelis, the Israelis can answer about questions about their evidence."
The quest to obtain more evidence comes after Britain's Channel 4 claimed the dossier Israel provided to the UN to support its allegations contained ''no evidence" to support the claims.
Ann Skelton, Chair of the United Nations Child Rights Committee, says many children have been impacted by the war.
“No child should grow up in fear, pain and hunger. Yet today, no child in Gaza is free from fear, pain and hunger. In fact, they'll be considered lucky if they can even survive this war and have the chance to grow up. According to the latest UN figures, 27,585 Palestinians have been killed and 66,978 injured since the 7th of October last year. More than 7,000 are estimated to be buried under rubble, raising the total number of casualties to more than 100,000 people. And as we all know, many of them are children.”
The reduced funding to the UNRWA has strained its ability to provide essential services to Palestinian refugees.
The organisation is facing a financial crisis and has been forced to make cuts in staff and services, jeopardising the wellbeing of those trying to escape the conflict in the enclave.
According to a post on X made by the Head of the UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, the suspension in funding has brought over 300,000 people in northern Gaza on the verge of famine.
And the UNRWA's Director of Communications Juliette Touma says the funding suspension amounts to half the agency's budget telling Channel 4 it could be forced to make some difficult decisions.
"We are likely to be forced to suspend our operations by end of February, beginning of March if the funding does not resume.
Channel 4 journalist: "What does that mean in practical terms, as you say, because it's so extensive, the activity of UNRWA, does that mean, you know, all schooling, all the agency's work will just stop?"
Juliette Touma: "We're going to be forced to make very tough decisions that humanitarian aid workers are not supposed to be forced to do."
Ann Skelton from the UN Child Rights Committee has called for nations to resume their funding so that humanitarian aid can reach the thousands of children who are suffering in Gaza.
“In view of the colossal humanitarian needs faced by more than 2 million people in the Gaza enclave, the committee urges all donor states who have suspended their funding or future funding to UNRWA to reconsider their decision immediately and provide sufficient funds to ensure that all urgent aid can be provided to all, to each and every child.”
The UN says they are continuing their investigations following the information they received from Israel.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres says he immediately took action after he became aware of the situation.
He says not doing so would have perpetuated a dangerous situation.
"We received allegations in relation to 12 names and those allegations were credible. Now if the allegations are credible, you are dealing with high risk. And when we're dealing with high risk and you have rules and regulations that allow you to do so, you, I believe, should do what I did, which was to terminate immediately the contracts based on the so-called best interests of the organization, which is what the rules and regulations allow me to do."
