India provides second tranche of $5 million contribution to UNRWA for Palestinian refugees

India on Thursday released the second tranche of $2.5 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), fulfilling its annual commitment of $5 million for Palestinian refugees this year amid the devastating Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

The Indian government released the first tranche of its contribution in November. The UNRWA is struggling to keep up its functioning amid the war and had welcomed India's "generous contribution" last month coming at a difficult time, particularly in Gaza.

“UNRWA received a very generous contribution from India which is most welcome during these difficult times and in the face of huge needs across the region, particularly in Gaza,” a spokesperson for UNRWA, Tamara Alrifai, told news agency PTI last month in a text message from Amman.

Palestinians in Gaza are bearing the brunt of a devastating conflict between Israel and Hamas, which has been ruling the Gaza Strip since 2007, since the October 7 attack by the militant organisation on Israel, prompting it to bombard the enclave with continued air and ground strikes in retaliation.

Palestinian health authorities said that 210 people were confirmed killed in Israeli strikes in the past 24 hours, raising the toll of the war to 21,320 dead. Thousands more dead are feared to be buried or lost in the ruins as the Israeli military operations are feared to spread further towards the south.

Additionally, more than 55,000 others have been wounded in the attack, according to the Gaza health ministry. The rising death toll has sparked international alarm, with many countries calling for an immediate ceasefire.

India's support for Palestinian refugees

UNRWA, functional since 1950, carries out direct relief and works programmes for registered Palestinian refugees and is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions from UN member states. Amid difficulties in funding for UNRWA, India's contribution is key to helping its core programmes and services, including education, healthcare, relief and social services for Palestinian refugees.

The second tranche of the contribution was handed over to UNRWA by Charge d'Affaires Elizabeth Rodrigues, a press statement from the Representative Office of India in Palestine said. India has underlined its continued support for the agency's activities in the region and the services it provides to the Palestinian Refugees.

Earlier on November 19, India had delivered 32 tonnes of “humanitarian assistance to the people of Palestine” via the El-Arish Airport in Egypt. The border crossing was opened after intense negotiations between the United States, Egypt and Israel as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsened and the UN appealed for assistance for the civilians in the besieged enclave.

India has provided $30 million to UNRWA since 2018, In 2020, Minister of State for External Affairs, V Muraleedharan, announced that India would contribute $10 million to UNRWA over the next two years.

The UNRWA already suffered from several difficulties before the war began, resulting from a growth in the number of registered Palestine refugees, the extent of their vulnerability and their deepening poverty. It seeks to help Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip achieve their full human development potential,

During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Palestine in 2018, India increased its annual financial contribution four-fold to the UNRWA core budget, from $1.25 million to $5 million. India has also made a strong appeal to other traditional donors of UNRWA to consider enhancing their contributions as well as to non-donor member states to consider contributing to the agency.

(with inputs from PTI)

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