Spain will give UNRWA, the United Nations' “Palestinian refugee” agency, an additional 20 million euros in aid, Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said on Thursday, according to Reuters.
This amount will be on top of the 3.5 million euros the country has already pledged in February.
The new funds are aimed at "supporting the organization in its humanitarian work in Gaza and meeting the food, education and health needs of the nearly six million Palestinian refugees in the region," Albares said after a meeting with UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini in Madrid.
A total of 16 countries in January paused payments to UNRWA soon after Israel said that 12 UNRWA staff had taken part in Hamas’ October 7 attack.
Earlier this week, Israel published two recordings incriminating two UNRWA teachers who took part in the October 7 massacre.
Spain’s pledge comes days after Lazzarini, who has insisted he had no knowledge of how deep Hamas is involved in UNRWA, warned that "without additional funding, we will be in uncharted territory with serious implications for global peace and security."
The UNRWA chief also accused Israel of what he called "a deliberate and concerted campaign" aimed at ending UNRWA’s work.
Spain’s pledge of additional assistance to UNRWA also follows its announcement on Monday that it had initiated a process of sanctioning 12 Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria who it claims committed violent acts against Palestinian Arabs.