Australian officials scrambled to understand allegations before Unrwa funding suspended, documents show

Australian officials scrambled to “understand what the allegations are” against Unrwa staff and complained of “precious nothing in the public domain” hours before the government suspended funding to the “vital” aid agency.

The emails shed light on some of the internal discussions that occurred prior to the government’s decision in late January to pause $6m in emergency top-up funding to the agency, although some parts of the documents are redacted.

The foreign minister, Penny Wong, announced on Saturday 27 January that the $6m in top-up funding to Unrwa would be paused “temporarily”, after similar moves by other countries including the United States.

Emails obtained under freedom of information laws show the Australian embassy in Washington DC quickly relayed to Canberra the US decision to suspend funds to Unrwa, pending investigations.

The newly released documents show that shortly after Wong’s statement, Dfat sent an urgent request to Australian diplomats around the world, including in Europe, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Middle East.

In the previously secret advice, Delaney said Australia would “continue to seek additional assurances to enable further confidence the risks associated with humanitarian delivery are being managed given the difficult operating environment in Gaza, specifically”.