Sweden maintains funding ban on UNRWA as starvation in Gaza worsens

News August 11, 2025 / By: Ann Danaiya Usher

A new UN report states that UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, continues to have a “robust presence” in Gaza, despite Israel’s aid blockade. Sweden, the only EU state to defund the agency, justifies upholding its ban by arguing that not a single UNRWA truck has entered Gaza in the last five months. This claim is “deceptive and dishonest, UNRWA is still operating,” says a spokesperson for the Social Democrats.

UNRWA Forcibly displaced people seek shelter in a destroyed UNRWA school in Gaza City, the Gaza Strip, June 2025. © 2025 UNRWA photo.jpg — Forcibly displaced people seek shelter in a destroyed UNRWA school in Gaza City, June 2025 (Photo by UNRWA)

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