The UN agency for Palestinian refugees has terminated 571 Gazan staff outside the territory, citing an unprecedented funding shortfall.
GENEVA: The UN agency for Palestinian refugees has fired hundreds of staff due to a dire financial crisis.
A UNRWA spokesperson said 571 local staff outside Gaza were separated from the agency with immediate effect on Tuesday.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency provides aid to refugees across Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.
It faces an unprecedented financial crisis as voluntary contributions dwindle amid intense Israeli criticism.
The agency’s mandated work cost around $880 million in 2025, but it received only about $570 million in contributions.
“As things stand, we expect a substantial shortfall in 2026,” the spokesperson added.
All affected staff originally worked in Gaza but left early in the war sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attacks.
Hamas slammed the decision as “unjust and a violation of the fundamental rights of these employees”.
Most staff had been on exceptional unpaid leave since last March after being unable to work remotely.
“The affected staff have been without pay for over 10 months,” the spokesperson explained.
The decision allows them to access separation indemnities and other financial resources rapidly.
UNRWA still has about 12,000 staff working inside the Palestinian territory.
More than 300 UNRWA employees have been killed in Gaza since the war began.
Israel accuses the agency of providing cover for Hamas and bars it from operating on its soil.
Investigations found some neutrality-related issues but no conclusive evidence for Israel’s main allegation.
Tuesday’s move resulted from an extremely challenging financial outlook and intense defamation campaigns.
