UNRWA sends alarm over Gaza funding

By Nathan Morley

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) says it only has funding to sustain operations until the end of August.

Due to UNRWA's grave financial crisis, a pledging conference is slated to take place this week to try and secure enough funds to cover its expenses and continue services in Gaza.

On the ground, UN humanitarians insist Israel's latest order to evacuate Gaza City only compounds the suffering of Palestinians.

The evacuation plans are also forcing many aid organisations to hastily reorganize their work in different areas. For example, the  World Food Programme said the unstable and hazardous situation for those in Gaza City hampers its operations, where the kitchens it supports are often the source of food.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been displaced from one location to another, many of them numerous times.

Earlier, the Egyptian Foreign Minister and his Jordanian counterpart renewed calls for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

The two expressed complete rejection of Israel's policies that displaced Palestinians from their lands.

According to Gaza’s Hamas-run health board, the total Palestinian death toll in Gaza since last October has now reached 38,243.

Israel has been waging a huge offensive against Hamas in Gaza Strip in retaliation for a Hamas attack on Israel last year which killed 1,200 people.