This legislative ask is designed to be shared with your members of Congress and their staff.
Gaza isn’t starving. It’s being starved. Over two million Palestinian civilians face one of the world’s worst human-made humanitarian crises, with famine and disease spreading due to a lack of aid access. Amidst this catastrophe, the Biden administration and Congress halted all U.S. funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the largest aid operation in Gaza, until March 2025.
The U.S. actions were a knee-jerk response to Israeli allegations that a dozen UNRWA employees (out of 13,000 working in Gaza), were directly involved in Hamas’ horrific attacks on October 7. As the facts continue to come in, it has become clear there was an unjustified rush to judgment against UNRWA.
UNRWA was established by a United Nations General Assembly Resolution in 1949 to carry out direct relief programs for Palestine refugees displaced in the Nakba. The Agency began operations in 1950 and has provided vital relief to Palestinian civilians in need ever since.
Support the UNRWA Funding Emergency Restoration Act (H.R. 9649)
Why Congress must pass the UNRWA Funding Emergency Restoration Act (H.R. 9649):
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UNRWA is the “backbone” of all aid delivery operations in Gaza. Blocking U.S. funding will only exacerbate the already catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which is home to two million Palestinians who are experiencing displacement, hunger, and disease.
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Continuing to block U.S. funding to UNRWA doesn’t just impact civilians in Gaza. This vital UN agency provides essential shelter, healthcare, education, and financial assistance to millions of other Palestinian refugees across the region including in the West Bank, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. If UNRWA closed its doors, we could see even more regional instability and violence.
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In response to Israel’s allegations, UNRWA immediately fired the twelve employees. UN Secretary General Guterres ordered an inspector general investigation and commissioned an independent, outside review of UNRWA’s mechanisms and procedures. UNRWA has taken concrete steps to implement all recommendations.
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After prompt action by UNRWA and the UN, and as additional facts have come to light, all 15 countries that suspended support to UNRWA have resumed funding, including the United Kingdom, European Union, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and Australia. The United States should join these key allies in restoring this urgently needed funding.
