UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday deplored the humanitarian situation in Gaza and praised the UN agency for Palestinian refugees "critical work" last year.
In his remarks to a meeting on the rights of the Palestinian people, Guterres said that approximately two million Palestinians remain mired in increasing poverty and unemployment, with limited access to adequate health, education, water and electricity.
He urged Israel to lift restrictions on the movement of people and goods, which also hamper the efforts of the United Nations and other humanitarian agencies.
On humanitarian relief, Guterres commended the UN agency for Palestinian refugees known as UNRWA for its "critical work" in Gaza, the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and across the region, despite an unprecedented financial crisis in 2018.
The United States, once the agency's largest and most generous donor, cut its support for the agency by 300 million U.S. dollars in 2018. But the organization was able to narrow the funding gap with aid pledges from other countries.
"I thank those donors who have increased their commitments and enabled Palestinian refugees to continue to receive the essential services provided by UNRWA," Guterres said, asking them to maintain their support in the future.
Last month, UNRWA appealed for 1.2 billion dollars to fund their services this year, aiming to maintain the same amount of money the agency received from donors in 2018.
The U.N. agency assists 5.4 million registered Palestinian refugees across the Middle East.
