The Colonna report, which was commissioned by the UN in the wake of Israeli allegations of the involvement of Unrwa staff in the 7 October Hamas attack, led major donors to cut $450m. But Israel has not presented evidence of UNRWA involvement. Da The Guardian
Unsupported Israeli allegations about Unrwa links to terrorism led major donors to cut $450m in funding to the main humanitarian agency working in Gaza at a time when people there were dying in droves.
Three months later, the situation has only worsened with the onset of a human-made famine on top of the bombing, the collapse of healthcare, the lack of water and a rise in epidemics. And despite a rigorous inquiry by the former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna, supported by three well-respected research institutes, there is still no evidence for the claim that significant numbers of Unrwa employees have Hamas or Islamic Jihad ties.
There is a separate review under way into specific claims Unrwa employees took part in the 7 October attack but that investigation is still not complete, UN officials say. The last time there was a progress report, however, Israel was still withholding cooperation.
