Japan’s diplomacy has in turn announced the suspension of funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), due to Israel’s accusations that some of its workers were involved in the attack it carried out the military arm of Hamas in its territory on October 7.

UNRWA suspended staff and promised a thorough investigation, but Israel announced it had decided to ban it from working in the Gaza Strip after the war.

Japan is the ninth country to announce a suspension of funding to the UN agency, following notably the US and Germany.

Tokyo stressed last Sunday night that it is “extremely concerned about the alleged involvement of UNRWA staff members in the terrorist attack against Israel on October 7 last year.”

“In response, Japan has decided to suspend any additional funding to UNRWA for the time being while UNRWA conducts an investigation into the matter and considers measures to address these allegations,” according to a press release from the Japanese foreign ministry.

Tokyo “at the same time” will continue “diplomatic efforts to improve the situation in the Gaza Strip”, de-escalate the war “as soon as possible” and offer “support to other international organizations”, according to the statement.