Conversations and insights about the moment.

The United States and several other countries suspended their funding from UNRWA, and, while other countries, including Germany, the second-largest donor, have since restored their contributions, the U.S. will not resume its funding until March 2025 at the earliest. The State Department has said it is still reviewing the report.

Lazzarini said private donors have made up much of that shortfall, allowing UNRWA to continue its work, but the funding gap remains a significant worry relative to the need.

He has managed to secure the agency’s budget through June, he said, but the second half of the year is uncertain. “I know that we won’t be able to count on the U.S. contribution,” he said. “So obviously it brings the agency closer to the edge of financial collapse.”

There are other U.N. agencies and international aid organizations, including the World Food Program and UNHCR, that could address humanitarian needs in Gaza. But UNRWA serves another function: It provides “state-like” services, paying the salaries for teachers, health workers and other civil servants. To hand over those public services, “we would need a functioning administration,” Lazzarini said, and it is unclear who could assume that responsibility.

UNRWA, he said, is open to working with a revitalized Palestinian Authority, a possibility the United States has supported. But until the Palestinian Authority or another governing body takes shape, UNRWA plays a necessary role. Without it, the situation in Gaza after the conflict ends could be dangerously unstable. Six months into this conflict, “the day after” may seem like a distant prospect, but in the meantime, it is in no one’s interest to hobble one of the few remaining stabilizing forces in Gaza.