Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stressed on Monday the necessity to keep funding the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

During a phone conversation, they also discussed the pivotal role played by the UN and its various organizations in providing support and relief to the people in the war-torn Gaza Strip, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement.

Sisi and Guterres said continuing funding UNRWA would allow the agency to perform its humanitarian role, according to the statement.

As of Monday, Canada, Australia, Britain, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Finland, Estonia, Japan, Austria and Romania have joined the U.S. in pausing funding for UNRWA after Israel accused several UNRWA employees of suspected involvement in the Hamas attack on Israel last October.