The signatories include organizations such as the Save the Children international charity, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), the Oxfam anti-poverty charity and others.
"We urge donor states to reaffirm support for the vital work that UNRWA and its partners do to help Palestinians survive one of the worst humanitarian catastrophes of our times. Countries must reverse these funding suspensions, uphold their duties towards the Palestinian people and scale up humanitarian assistance for civilians in dire need in Gaza and the region," the statement released by Oxfam said on Monday.
The organizations are deeply concerned and outraged by the suspension of funding to UNRWA by some major donors amid the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. The NGOs also welcomed the investigation into the alleged involvement of some UNRWA staff in the Hamas attacks.
On Friday, UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini said Israel had shared with UNRWA data on the alleged involvement of some of the agency's staff members in the Hamas attack and vowed to hold accountable anyone involved in "acts of terror." The United States, Finland, the United Kingdom, Italy, Australia, Canada, Germany and some other countries swiftly responded by suspending funding for UNRWA.