"For an organisation with the scope of UNRWA, this is insane ... It's insane that we've survived so long without a financial safety net," Alrifai told UK newspaper The Observer.
The agency has been forced to ask for additional money from countries that have not yet suspended their funding, the spokeswoman said, adding that one of UNRWA's main tasks was raising money to pay for the work of its employees.
"We're facing unprecedented demand for services. The impact of the donors' freeze is not only on our ability to respond to a humanitarian crisis of epic magnitude, but all our operations across the region," Arifai was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
The UN agency is concerned that such a severe funding crisis will affect its ability to feed people, operate shelters and provide health services, the spokeswoman explained.
UNRWA is the primary humanitarian agency in the Gaza Strip, with over 2 million people depending on it for their survival. In January, Israel shared data with the agency's leadership on the alleged involvement of some of its staff members in the October 7 Hamas attack and vowed to hold anyone involved in the said "acts of terror" accountable. The United States, Finland, Italy, Australia, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom and some other countries responded by suspending funding for the agency. In early February, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed an independent review panel led by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna to examine UNRWA's activities.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel from Gaza and breached the border, killing 1,200 people and abducting around 240 others. Israel launched retaliatory strikes, ordered a complete blockade of Gaza, and started a ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas fighters and rescuing the hostages. At least 29,606 people have been killed so far in the Gaza Strip, local authorities said.