United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres met in private with representatives of 35 countries and the European Union this Tuesday and contributed to saving civilians in the enclave.

Faced with the risk of putting UNRWA’s work on hold, the meeting focused on disseminating the steps adopted to face the accusations against a dozen of its officials, pointed out by Israel as participants in the October 7 attacks in the southern area.

UN Humanitarian Envoy to Gaza Sigrid Kaag said no competent organization can replace or substitute UNRWA’s capacity, ability, and knowledge.

Kaag, who is also a former Dutch Foreign Minister, deemed it essential to her role after briefing the Security Council for the first time on her administration, which began in early January and focused on getting more aid into the Strip.

After closed-door consultations with the 15-member body, Kaag said the approved mechanism to increase the flow of essential supplies to the enclave still had some “critical” issues to resolve.

Despite these efforts, signals to UNRWA posed a potential risk to its operational capacity after its leading partners, including the United States, Canada, Australia, and several European nations, announced the suspension of their funding.

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