UNRWA funding suspense: China warns of collective punishment of Gazans

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Thursday warned of collective punishment of Gazans, calling for effort to prevent the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip from worsening.

Spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a regular press briefing that it is important to ensure the operation of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), a UN body providing essential services to Palestinian refugees.

"It matters to the continuity of humanitarian relief efforts, guarantee of subsistence of the Gaza people, and last hope for the survival of those refugees on the verge of despair," said Wang.

The spokesperson's remarks came after an array of UN agencies including the World Health Organization, Food and Agriculture Organization, and United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights issued on Wednesday a joint statement, saying that the decisions by some countries to pause funds from UNRWA will have "catastrophic consequences" for the people of Gaza, and calling for them to be reconsidered.

"The world cannot abandon the people of Gaza," they said in the statement.

Some donors, including the United States, Canada and Britain, have decided to suspend funding to the UNRWA after Israel accused several UNRWA employees of suspected involvement in the October 7 attack on Israel. The UNRWA has also initiated an investigation into the allegations.

The suspension would force UNRWA to halt all its activities in Gaza in a few weeks, the UN relief agency's commissioner-general has said. And UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has described the agency as "the backbone of all humanitarian response in Gaza."

"We support the UN in conducting an independent, impartial and objective investigation. At the same time, it should be pointed out that collective punishment of the people of Gaza must be avoided," said the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Thursday.