Austria suspends payments to UN Palestinian agency - foreign ministry

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FILE PHOTO: A truck, marked with United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) logo, crosses into Egypt from Gaza, at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, during a temporary truce between Hamas and Israel, in Rafah, Egypt, November 27, 2023. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh/File Photo

FILE PHOTO: A truck, marked with United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) logo, crosses into Egypt from Gaza, at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, during a temporary truce between Hamas and Israel, in Rafah, Egypt, November 27, 2023. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh/File Photo

BERLIN - Austria is suspending payments to the United Nations' Palestinian aid agency, UNRWA, pending a full investigation into accusations that its employees were involved in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, the Austrian foreign ministry said on Monday.

"We call on UNRWA and the United Nations to conduct a comprehensive, swift and complete investigation into the allegations," the ministry said in a statement.

Austria joins Britain, Germany, the United States, Australia and Canada, among others, in pausing funding to the aid agency, a critical source of support for people in Gaza. REUTERS

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