US pause on funding UN's main Palestinian relief agency may become permanent

WASHINGTON, March 13 (Reuters) - U.S. officials are preparing for a pause on funding the main U.N. agency for Palestinians to become permanent due to opposition in Congress, even as the Biden administration insists the aid group's humanitarian work is indispensable.

The U.S., along with more than a dozen countries, suspended its funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in January after Israel accused 12 of the agency's 13,000 employees in Gaza of participating in the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas attack.

The U.N. has launched an investigation into the allegations, and UNRWA fired some staff after Israel provided the agency with information on the allegations.