Democrats in Congress are considering voting against a government funding package due to a one-year prohibition on American money going to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which has employed members of Hamas who participated in the attacks of October 7.

The government funding deal, which was released early Thursday morning ahead of the Friday shutdown deadline, bars America from sending any money to Unrwa for one year. Liberal Democrats say that the humanitarian crisis deserves immediate action. 

A member of the Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Van Hollen, tells the Sun that he is deeply concerned about the prohibition but may still vote for the final package. “Unrwa is the primary distribution system to get food to starving people in Gaza, so if you defund Unrwa, then it will mean more kids will die of starvation,” he says. “I’m working my way through the bill now, but this is a very concerning part of it.”

The provision barring money for Unrwa is buried in the annual state and foreign operations spending bill. If adopted, it would place a prohibition on American money going to Unrwa until at least March 25, 2025. 

The chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Cardin, was also dismayed that the prohibition was included in the final spending deal. “I think it’s a mistake,” he says. “We shouldn’t be doing that.”

Senator Sanders described anti-Unrwa lawmakers as members of the “starvation caucus.”

“Tens of thousands of people are starving, Unrwa is trying to feed them, and the Israeli government and its allies like Aipac spend much of their time lobbying to defund Unrwa — the major organization which is feeding starving people,” he said on the Senate floor on Wednesday night, before the final agreement was reached. “Many members of Congress seem to be happy to be part of this starvation caucus, happy to cut funding for Unrwa, and make it harder to get aid to Palestinians in the midst of this crisis.”

In the House, several members have said they will vote against the funding deal due to the prohibition. “I will vote no on this bill that bans aid to children in Gaza who are dying of hunger. Forget the politics and procedural jargon. This is a test of first principles,” Congressman Ro Khanna says on X. “The America I believe in must never be indifferent to the man made starvation of children.”

The chairwoman of the Progressive Caucus, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, tells reporters she is “leaning no” on the deal due to the Unrwa prohibition. In February, when America and other allies temporarily halted funding Unrwa, Ms. Jayapal said it was “irresponsible and unacceptable” to keep aid from civilians. 

“Prohibiting United States funding for this organization, which has been on the frontlines of conflict in Gaza, is especially irresponsible and unacceptable given our country’s historic role as the largest contributor to Unrwa,” she said at the time. 

Unrwa employees were accused of participating in the attacks of October 7 in Israel. An Israeli nonprofit found that 13 Unrwa staffers had acted with Hamas on that day, and one of the Israeli hostages who was later released said that he had been held in a house that belonged to a teacher employed by Unrwa. 

The United Nations is finishing its own work on investigating the allegation that Unrwa employees were involved in the October 7 attack, which left more than 1,200 dead and saw more than 250 hostages taken to Gaza. 

The United Nations said in a statement on Thursday that in “critical areas,” Unrwa has failed to maintain its neutrality and keep Hamas terrorists and Hamas sympathizers out of their ranks. “Unrwa has in place a significant number of mechanisms and procedures to ensure compliance with the Humanitarian Principle of neutrality, and the group has also identified critical areas that still need to be addressed,” the Secretary General’s office said. 

The UN working group investigating the allegations will have a final report with recommendations for reform by late April.