A lorry, marked with the UNRWA logo, crosses into Egypt from Gaza, at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, during a temporary truce between Hamas and Israel, in Rafah, Egypt, 27 November 2023;
Credit: Reuters/Amr Abdallah Dalsh/File Photo
BERLIN (Reuters) - Austria is suspending payments to the United Nations' Palestinian aid agency, UNRWA, pending a full investigation into accusations that its employees were involved in the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, the Austrian foreign ministry said on Monday 29 January 2024.
"We call on UNRWA and the United Nations to conduct a comprehensive, swift and complete investigation into the allegations," the ministry said in a statement.
Austria joins the United Kingdom, Germany, the United States, Australia and Canada, among others, in pausing funding to the aid agency, a critical source of support for people in Gaza.
