Humza Yousaf vows Scotland has not paused funding to allegation-hit United Nations Gaza aid agency UNRWA

Eight countries – including the UK – have withdrawn funding for UNRWA

First minister Humza Yousaf has insisted Scotland is not pausing funding for United Nations Palestinian relief agency UNRWA – despite an international row over allegations that members of staff from the organisation were involved in the 7 October attacks on Israel.

Nine countries, including the US, Australia, Canada, France, Finland, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands as well as the UK Government, have said they will halt funding to the agency, which was set up 74 years ago to provide relief to all refugees resulting from the 1948 Palestine War.

This comes as US negotiators on Sunday continued talks in Paris over a written agreement which they hope could pause the conflict for up to two months in exchange for the release of more than 100 hostages still held by Hamas.

Displaced Palestinians receive food aid at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) center in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Mr Yousaf, whose parents-in-law were trapped in Gaza for almost a month after Israel’s retaliatory attacks put the territory under blockade, took to Twitter to clarify the Scottish Government’s position.

“To be clear, @scotgov has not paused or withdrawn aid to @UNRWA,” he wrote on X.

“We have previously provided as much as we can within our financial constraints. We will always seek to do more where we can & urge others to continue to provide aid to the people of Gaza.”

In November, after a meeting between Mr Yousaf and UNWRA officials in Edinburgh, the Scottish Government pledged a further £250,000 to UNRWA’s flash appeal for Gaza, taking the total funding from Scotland to £750,000. Scotland’s funding to UNWRA is allocated via one-off contributions in response to an unfolding humanitarian disaster – and regular funding is not expected, unlike the UK Government, which had previously made a budgetary commitment to fund UNWRA’s work.

Marc Lassouaoui, UNRWA Senior Manager Outreach Europe and Director of the UNRWA Representative Office for Europe Ms Marta Lorenzo, with first minister Humza Yousaf in Edinburgh in November.

However, a separate statement from the Scottish Government, said it was "deeply concerned" by the allegations about UNRWA staff.

"Given our recent funding of UNRWA, we have separately been in direct touch with them today and have requested further updates on the investigation. We have no plans to provide further support to UNRWA at this stage," the spokesperson said.

"These allegations are particularly concerning at a time when the international community must continue to find mechanisms to maintain, and increase the levels of life-saving aid getting into Gaza."

UN secretary general Antonio Gueterres appealed to nations which have withdrawn funding for UNRWA to reconsider, saying the money was critical to continue crucial services for Gazans.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that the world is 'on the highway to climate hell' because of 'global boiling' (Picture: John Minchillo/pool/Getty Images)

Israel told the agency late last week that it believes some UNRWA staff were involved in the deadly Hamas attacks on its soil.

It has not been made clear exactly what form the members of staff’s involvement took, but Israeli media has suggested UNWRA vehicles and properties could have been used during the 7 October assault, which killed 1,300. An advisor to Israel’s prime minister has also said one hostage who had since been released by Hamas and returned to Israel had claimed she had been held in the house of an UNRWA employee.

Mr Guterres said in a statement issued this morning that an investigation by the UN’s Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) had been immediately activated.

He said: “Any UN employee involved in acts of terror will be held accountable, including through criminal prosecution.

"Meanwhile, two million civilians in Gaza depend on critical aid from UNRWA for daily survival but UNRWA’s current funding will not allow it to meet all requirements to support them in February. While I understand their concerns – I was myself horrified by these accusations - I strongly appeal to the governments that have suspended their contributions to, at least, guarantee the continuity of UNRWA’s operations.”

He said nine out of 12 suspects believed to have been involved in the attacks had been identified and fired from their posts, while one is confirmed dead, and the identity of the two others is being clarified.

If US negotiations are successful, it has been reported Israel could pause the conflict for up to two months in return for the release of hostages.

On Friday, president Joe Biden President Biden spoke to the leaders of Egypt and Qatar, who have served as intermediaries with Hamas.

“Both leaders affirmed that a hostage deal is central to establishing a prolonged humanitarian pause in the fighting and ensure additional lifesaving humanitarian assistance reaches civilians in need throughout Gaza,” a statement from the White House said.

The New York Times has reported that negotiators close to the agreement said that in the first phase, fighting would stop for about 30 days while women, elderly and wounded hostages were released by Hamas. During that period, the two sides would work out details of a second phase that would suspend military operations for roughly another 30 days in exchange for Israeli soldiers and male civilians being held.

Over 100 Israeli hostages taken on 7 October remain in the hands of Hamas, although around 110 have been released. A further two dozen are believed to have died since their capture.

The talks come days after the International Court of Justice in the Hague ruled Israel should to take all measures possible to prevent genocidal acts in Gaza – however stopped short of demanding a full ceasefire.

South Africa, which brought the case, asked the UN court to act urgently “to protect against further, severe and irreparable harm to the rights of the Palestinian people under the genocide convention, which continues to be violated with impunity”.