The Biden Administration has cut off critical aid to the United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA). The US, contributing hundreds of millions of dollars annually to UNRWA, was one of the main funders of the agency. The US cutting off funding will exacerbate the already dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza and thousands will continue to starve and die of preventable diseases. Sign our petition to the Biden Administration to restore UNRWA funding immediately!
Dear President Biden and Secretary Blinken
We, the undersigned, call on you to immediately fully restore funding to UNRWA, the United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees. Right now, two million people in Gaza rely on the critical aid provided by UNRWA. Cutting funding right now, when nearly two million people are displaced, 400,000 are experiencing famine, and every civilian in Gaza without access to reliable clean water is an unjustifiable act.
CNN reported, "Israel’s blockade and restrictions on aid deliveries mean stocks are desperately low, driving up prices and making food inaccessible to people across Gaza. Shortages are even worse in the northern parts of the strip, according to the UN, where Israel concentrated its military offensive in the early days of the war. Communication blackouts stifle efforts to report on starvation and dehydration in the region."
Even now, we do not know or understand the full scope of suffering in Gaza. Cutting off aid to UNRWA when so many Palestinians in Gaza rely on it to survive, when 30,000 lives have already been lost, is an act of cruel collective punishment. As the US is the top funder of UNRWA, cutting off funding jeopardizes basic functioning of the agency. This decision is a death sentence to millions of people. We urge you to restore funding to UNRWA immediately.