Washington DC - Several dozen members of Congress are urging House and Senate leaders to continue US funding for a United Nations agency providing critical relief to Palestinians under Israeli assault.

"We write to express deep concern about Congressional proposals to prohibit US funding for humanitarian relief to Gaza through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)," 50 members of Congress wrote in a letter to House Appropriations Committee Chair Kay Granger and Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro, as well as Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Patty Murray and Vice Chair Susan Collins.

Led by Representatives André Carson, Pramila Jayapal, and Jamie Raskin, the letter deplores the dire situation faced by Palestinians under Israeli siege and bombardment.

The Gaza Health Ministry has reported more than 30,000 Palestinians killed and nearly 2 million more forcibly displaced since October. The threat of famine is looming as Israel continues to block the entry of humanitarian aid into the territory.

Joke of the Day Joke of the Night for April 30, 2024: The best jokes to laugh the day away

Despite these desperate conditions, the Biden administration announced in late January that it was cutting off additional funding to UNRWA, which provides food, water, health care, education, and other basic needs to Palestinian refugees.

The move immediately followed Israeli allegations still under investigation that a handful of the agency's over 30,000 employees were involved in the October 7 Hamas attack.

The defunding of UNRWA is sparking fears for the safety and well-being of Palestinians already under extreme threat, with the disastrous impacts of the decision likely to spread throughout the region.

"The consequences of terminating UNRWA operations will reverberate across the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria as the closure of UNRWA terminates education for 250,000 children, access to health care for almost 2 million people, and financial assistance for over 900,000 of the most desperate Palestinian civilians," the lawmakers wrote.

"To put it plainly, without UNRWA, humanitarian aid operations would likely shrivel away and collapse."

The US and other Western nations' decision to cut off aid to UNRWA has further endangered Palestinian lives as Israel faces growing accusations of genocide in Gaza.

The International Court of Justice in January ordered Israel to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza – the same day the US said it would deny future UNRWA funding – as it weighs a landmark genocide case brought by South Africa.

International experts have echoed the need for continued support to the agency given the ongoing human rights crisis in Gaza.

Joke of the Day Joke of the Night for April 29, 2024: The best jokes to laugh the day away

Along with launching an investigation into the Israeli allegations, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called on nations to continue funding for UNRWA.

Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, echoed his appeal, warning that countries that cut off funding risk violating the 1948 Genocide Convention.

President Joe Biden and other top US officials are already facing accusations of complicity in genocide in a groundbreaking lawsuit filed by Palestinians and Palestinian Americans. The case, dismissed on jurisdictional grounds, has been granted an expedited appeal, with oral arguments expected in June.