The United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) asked Turkey to mobilize regional and Islamic countries to fill the critical funding gap and allow the establishment of a political office in Ankara.UNRWA, the largest aid organization in the war-torn Gaza Strip, faces a looming financial crisis.

Unsubstantiated Israeli allegations that ten UNRWA employees participated in the Hamas-led attack on October 7 have prompted several Western countries to withdraw funding for the agency. Although many have since resumed financing, the main backers, the United States and the United Kingdom, have not.

Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of UNRWA, met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday. Following the meeting, Erdogan ordered senior Turkish officials to increase Turkey’s financial support and encourage neighboring countries to contribute more, according to sources close to the discussions.

We have a shortfall of $180 million in our core activities, which is primarily for our workforce, namely 30,000 employees who provide education and primary health care across the region, not only in Gaza and the West Bank but also in Jordan and Syria,” Lazzarini said. He stated this to a group of journalists in Ankara after his meeting with Erdogan. “We need to fill this gap.”

Lazzarini said that although the agency’s core operations were fairly funded, emergency allocations for the exceptional circumstances in Gaza were severely lacking in the necessary funds. He suggested that Türkiye play a role in pressuring Middle Eastern countries and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to intervene and help support UNRWA.

Israeli officials say UNRWA needs to be dismantled entirely, which would likely hasten the collapse of aid services across Palestine and countries like Lebanon and Jordan that host Palestinian refugees. Lazzarini expressed his hope that Turkey would be able to express its support for UNRWA on the international stage to help ward off these pressures.

A source familiar with Erdogan and Lazzarini talks told Middle East Eye that the president had instructed his officials to issue a permit to establish a political office in Ankara to coordinate further donations to the agency.

The source said: “Unfortunately, the OIC countries represent only $100 million in funding for the agency, and we would like Turkey to help us persuade countries in the region to donate more.”

He added: “We also expect more funding from Türkiye, as the president promised.”

Lazzarini said Turkey has been a reliable partner, annually granting $10 million to UNRWA’s core operations but also donating between $10 and $15 million in food to the organization.

Middle East Eye reported in March that the United States encouraged Turkey to make additional donations to UNRWA during high-level diplomatic talks earlier this year despite suspending its funding for the agency.

Lazzarini confirmed the report and said that the Biden administration asked all major donor countries to increase funding for the agency, citing a US law that prohibits Washington from donating to it until next year. UNRWA reported on Sunday that 193 of its employees were killed in Gaza.

Lazzarini said that the agency submitted investigation requests to Israel after each documented case of a murdered UNRWA employee. He added: “But I am not aware of any response from the Israeli authorities. He said that he proposed two weeks ago the formation of an independent body to investigate each incident.

I would say that blatant disregard for the United Nations, whether with its staff, buildings or operations, is not becoming the new norm, and anyone responsible must be held accountable,” he said.