Children walk near a damaged car hit by an Israeli strike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Jan 31, 2024. (PHOTO / AFP)

GENEVA/JERUSALEM/UN - The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Wednesday that cutting funds to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) would have "catastrophic consequences" for people in war-torn Gaza.

"No other entity has the capacity to deliver the scale and breadth of assistance that 2.2 million people in Gaza urgently need," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference in Geneva.

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"Decisions by various countries to pause funds for UNRWA, the largest supplier of humanitarian aid in this crisis, will have catastrophic consequences for the people of Gaza," Tedros said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for the closure of the UNRWA, amid allegations of some UNRWA employees' involvement in the deadly Hamas attack on Israel on Oct 7, 2023

Speaking of the situation in Gaza, he said that the WHO faces significant challenges in supporting health systems and workers there, with over 100,000 people having restricted access to healthcare due to fierce fighting.

Most hospitals in Gaza have already ceased functioning due to heavy bombardments and shortages of fuel and supplies. The Nasser Hospital in central Gaza is only minimally functional, the UN has said.

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The risk of famine increases due to persistent hostilities and limited humanitarian access. The WHO urges reconsideration of funding cuts, emphasizing the urgent need for assistance, safe access to humanitarian aid, release of hostages, protection of healthcare facilities, and a ceasefire.  

This handout photo taken and released on Dec 15, 2023 by the World Health Organization (WHO), shows Director-General of the WHO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus delivering remarks during a press conference with press correspondents to the United Nations (ACANU) at WHO headquarters in Geneva. (PHOTO / WHO VIA AFP)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, has called for the closure of the UNRWA, amid allegations of some UNRWA employees' involvement in the deadly Hamas attack on Israel on Oct 7, 2023.

"The time has come for the international community and the UN itself to understand that UNRWA's mission must be ended," Netanyahu on Wednesday told UN ambassadors from eight countries who were visiting Jerusalem.

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The United States and at least 10 other countries have suspended funding to UNRWA after Israel accused about "a dozen of its workers of participating in the Oct 7 attack" that killed around 1,200 in Israel.

The UN chief addressed serious allegations against staff members of the UNRWA, saying that he was "personally horrified by these accusations"

UNRWA employs about 13,000 people in the Palestinian Gaza Strip which has faced a humanitarian crisis since Israel's massive airstrikes in response to the Hamas attack. The Gaza-based Health Ministry said Wednesday that the strikes killed at least 26,900 Palestinians and wounded 69,950 others. 

UN chief calls for deescalation

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urgently appealed for measures to reduce tensions in Gaza and its neighboring regions.

"I call for urgent steps to deescalate the situation and spare the region from more violence before it is too late," the top UN official told the meeting of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People on Wednesday.

READ MORE: Guterres to meet UNRWA donors to ensure continued relief work

"As we seek to address mounting needs in Gaza, we also remain focused on the deteriorating situation in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem," said the secretary-general. "I am extremely alarmed by the high levels of settler violence in the occupied West Bank. Palestinian attacks against Israelis also continue."

A dark smoke cloud covers damaged silos in the Gaza Strip during the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Jan 31, 2024. (PHOTO / AFP)

"All of this violence must stop, and the perpetrators held accountable," he said. 

Meanwhile, the secretary-general addressed serious allegations against staff members of the UNRWA, saying that he was "personally horrified by these accusations". He outlined steps being taken to address them, highlighting the importance of UNRWA's "vital work".

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He also emphasized the need for more crossing points to ease congestion and ensure continuous humanitarian access, alongside a plea for an "immediate humanitarian ceasefire".