UK, Italy, and Finland join US in defunding UNRWA amid October 7 probe

Britain, Italy, and Finland on Saturday became the latest countries to pause funding for the United Nations' refugee agency for Palestinians (UNRWA), following allegations that 12 of its staff were involved in the October 7 Hamas massacre in Israel.

The United States, Australia, and Canada had already paused funding to the aid agency after Israel said 12 UNRWA employees were involved in the cross-border attack. The agency has opened an investigation into several employees who severed ties with them.

The Palestinian foreign ministry criticized what it described as an Israeli campaign against UNRWA, and the Hamas terrorist group condemned the termination of employee contracts "based on information derived from the Zionist enemy."

The UK Foreign Office said it was temporarily pausing funding for UNRWA while the accusations were reviewed and noted London had condemned the October 7 attacks as heinous terrorism.

"The Italian government has suspended financing of the UNRWA after the atrocious attack on Israel on October 7," Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on social media platform X.

Finland also said it suspended funding.

Palestinian Authority panics over UNRWA defunding

Hussein al-Sheikh, head of the Palestinians' umbrella political body the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said cutting support brought major political and relief risks.

"We call on countries that announced the cessation of their support for UNRWA to immediately reverse their decision," he said on X.