RIYADH - A Saudi-funded humanitarian agency pledged on March 20 to boost the kingdom’s funding to the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) by US$40 million (S$53 million), according to a statement.

The donation by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief), which is dedicated to Gaza, comes as UNRWA faces a severe funding crunch after the United States and Britain paused support following Israel’s accusations that a dozen of the agency’s 13,000 staff in Gaza took part in the Oct 7 Hamas attack on the country.

UNRWA manages shelters, and provides food and healthcare for nearly two million people in Gaza, according to its website.

A UN-backed report warned on March 18 that northern Gaza faced imminent famine, as global pressure mounts on Israel to allow more humanitarian aid into the enclave of 2.3 million people.

Canada, Australia and Sweden have recently restored funding to UNRWA, while several Gulf countries, in addition to Saudi Arabia, have increased funding.

But that still may not be enough. “The US is our largest, largest donor so no amount of compensation by other donors, as generous as they are, can actually fill the gap that is left by the US,” said UNRWA spokeswoman Tamara al-Rifai.

Saudi Arabia previously announced a US$2 million contribution to UNRWA in October, while KSrelief provided US$15 million to the agency in November. REUTERS