Blinken urges 'indispensable' UN Palestinian agency to address charges

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday urged the UN agency for Palestinian refugees to address allegations staff members were involved in attacking Israel but distanced himself from calls for the body's end.

The United States, the main contributor to the agency known as UNRWA, on Friday said it was suspending funding after Israel charged that several staff members took part in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel that has prompted an overwhelming counter-operation.

Blinken called the allegations "deeply, deeply troubling" and said the United States would look very closely to "make sure that this is fully and thoroughly investigated, that there's clear accountability."

"At the same time," he said, "UNRWA has played and continues to play an absolutely indispensable role in trying to make sure that men, women and children who so desperately need assistance in Gaza actually get it."

"No one else can play the role that UNRWA's been playing, certainly not in the near term. No one has the reach, the capacity, the structure to do what UNRWA's been doing," he said.

"From our perspective, it's important – more than an important, imperative – that that role continues.

"That only underscores the importance of UNRWA tackling this as quickly as effectively and as thoroughly as possible," he said.

UNRWA said it has acted promptly over allegations but that cuts in funding will affect ordinary Palestinians.

The UN agency has long been in the crosshairs of Israel, which accuses it of systematically going against Israeli interests.