Unless more emergency funding is received by the end of this month, the UN relief agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), said on Tuesday that 46,000 children will be unable to start the new school year, along with major cuts to health and other basic services.  

That’s the warning coming from Gwyn Lewis, Director of UNRWA Operations in the West Bank, who was at UN Headquarters with her counterpart in Gaza, to outline the continuing funding crisis stemming from the United States decision to withdraw support last year.  

In an interview with UN News’s Matt Wells, she praised the solidarity and support of the international community since the US decision, insisting the agency is using its funds “very wisely”, ahead of a key pledging conference in New York on 25 June.