VIENNA: Germany will provide additional funding for the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency and has appealed to other EU members to do the same following a cut in US aid, its foreign ministry said Friday.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has been struggling to balance its books since the United States announced in January it was cutting its annual funding by $300 million (260 million euros).
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in a letter to European Union colleagues that the agency was a “key factor for stability” in the Middle East whose breakdown could entail an “uncontrollable chain reaction.”
Maas did not say how much money Germany would give in addition to 81 million euros it has already provided so far this year, but appealed to the EU to jointly support the agency to make up the deficit.
The foreign ministry confirmed the content of the letter.
UNRWA director Pierre Krahenbuhl said Thursday that the agency needs $200 million to continue its work until the end of this year.
The agency supports some five million registered Palestinian refugees and provides schooling for 526,000 children in the Palestinian territories, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan.
But UNRWA has warned it currently only has the funds to keep its 711 schools open for the next month.
Jordan’s foreign minister said Thursday that his country would host a fundraiser at the United Nations headquarters in New York on September 27 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to keep the agency afloat.
Germany to raise funds for Palestinian refugee agency
Germany to raise funds for Palestinian refugee agency
- Germany will provide additional funding for the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency and has appealed to other EU members to do the same
- German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in a letter to European Union colleagues that the agency was a “key factor for stability” in the Middle East
US to deploy more troops to Middle East as Iran operations continue
- Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine acknowledged that four US service members have been killed so far
WASHINGTON: The United States will send additional troops and military assets to the Middle East as operations against Iran continue, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine said on Monday.
Speaking at the Pentagon alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Caine stressed that the campaign, dubbed "Operation Epic Fury," remains ongoing and will not be concluded quickly.
“This is not a single overnight operation. The military objectives that (US Central Command) CENTCOM and the joint force have been tasked with will take some time to achieve, and, in some cases, will be difficult and gritty work,” Caine said.
He acknowledged that four US service members have been killed so far and cautioned that further casualties are expected as the campaign continues.
“We expect to take additional losses, and as always, we will work to minimize US losses. But as the Secretary (of Defense Hegseth) said, this is major combat operations,” Caine added.
Caine confirmed that more forces are already heading to the region.
“In fact, Admiral Cooper will receive additional forces even today,” he said, referring to US Central Command chief Brad Cooper.
He described the rapid military buildup as evidence of the US armed forces’ ability to adjust quickly and project power “at the time and place of our nation's choosing.”
