Ireland has "no plans" to suspend funding for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, the Tánaiste has said, after other nations have announced they are suspending funding.
It comes after Israel's foreign minister said the country will seek to stop UNRWA from operating in Gaza after the war after it accused several of its staff of involvement in Hamas's 7 October attack.
Australia, Italy, Finland, the Netherlands and Canada have decided to suspend financing of UNRWA, while Britain and the US will temporarily pause future funding.
In a post on X, Micheál Martin said he has "full confidence" in Commissioner-General of UNRWA Philippe Lazzarini’s decision to immediately suspend staff suspected of participation in the "heinous attacks of October 7" and to investigate thoroughly and "show zero tolerance on terror".
"Ireland has no plans to suspend funding for UNRWA's vital Gaza work," Mr Martin said.
"UNRWA’s 13,000 employees provide life saving assistance to 2.3m people and at incredible personal cost - with over 100 staff killed in last four months".
Mr Martin added that Ireland provided the agency with €18m in 2023 and "will continue our support in 2024".
UNRWA was set up to help refugees of the 1948 war at Israel's founding and provides education, health and aid services to Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon. It helps about two thirds of Gaza's 2.3 million population and has played a pivotal aid role during the war that Israel launched to eliminate Hamas after the 7 October attacks.
It comes as another UN agency has expressed serious concern for children in Gaza.
UNICEF's Chief of Communications for the State of Palestine Jonathan Crickx said there are around 300,000 children in Gaza who are under the age of five.
Speaking on RTÉ's Colm Ó Mongáin programme, Mr Crickx said: "We are trying to trace those children, we are trying to provide support but in the current conditions, that is extremely difficult to achieve."
Mr Crickx, who is currently in Gaza, said that when it comes to children, the supplies of nutritious food, especially for young children, have virtually run out.
"And without enough of that nutritious food, they could eventually starve."
He said in the immediate days and weeks, humanitarian aid needs to be delivered in a better way and more at scale and that in order for this to happen, there needs to be better security, more trucks, more fuel and phone networks.
Additional reporting Sandra Hurley
