Austria restores funding to Unrwa

Austria will release funds to Unrwa, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, that had been blocked following Israeli allegations that 12 members of the agency's staff participated in Hamas' attack on 7 October. 

The decision came after Unrwa launched an action plan to strengthen its internal reviews.

"After a thorough analysis of the action plan, we will release funds to Unrwa again," the Austrian foreign ministry said on Saturday.

A total of 3.4 million euros ($3.70 million) have been budgeted for 2024, with the first payment due to be made in the summer, the ministry said.

Several western countries froze $450m in funds after Israel accused 12 employees, of 13,000 working in the Gaza Strip, of participating in Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel.

Last month, the UN-commissioned Colonna report found that Israeli authorities had not provided "any supporting evidence" to back up allegations of Unrwa staff involvement in the attacks.

Germany has since said that it would continue to fund Unrwa, following the release of the report. 

In the Gaza enclave, the agency runs 183 schools, 22 health facilities and seven women's centres, amongst several other facilities. 

Its schools are attended by 286,645 students in Gaza, while its medical facilities have 3.4 million average visits per year, according to UN data.