EXCLUSIVE: In a recent briefing, officials from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) urged congressional aides to resist a potential decision by the Trump administration to label the agency as a foreign terrorist organization. The discussion, which took place on December 17, also covered UNRWA’s ongoing humanitarian initiatives in Gaza and the West Bank, including its cash assistance programs, as reported by Fox News Digital.
The briefing, facilitated via video conference, was organized by UNRWA USA, an American nonprofit dedicated to supporting the agency through advocacy and fundraising efforts. Mara Kronenfeld, the Executive Director of UNRWA USA, initiated the session by emphasizing the agency’s continued presence in Gaza and the West Bank. She criticized what she described as the Israeli government’s persistent attempts to undermine UNRWA’s essential humanitarian activities.
During the conference, participants addressed concerns that the U.S. might designate UNRWA as a foreign terrorist organization. They explored potential strategies with congressional representatives to prevent such a designation and reinforce support for UNRWA’s mission, according to information reviewed by Fox News Digital.
A Palestinian child walks near a UNRWA school in Gaza City, which was struck during an overnight Israeli attack on July 5, 2025. (Dawoud Abu Alkas/Reuters)
Bill Deere, UNRWA’s representative in Washington, acknowledged the validity of press reports suggesting that the administration was contemplating the terrorist organization designation for the agency. He stated, “Such a move would be unprecedented for a U.N. entity and is clearly unjustified,” pointing out that “four separate independent investigations” have refuted Israeli claims concerning UNRWA’s staff.
“This would be unprecedented for a U.N. agency to consider this. It is certainly unwarranted,” Deere said, asserting that “four separate independent investigations” dispute Israel’s allegations regarding UNRWA’s workforce.
Deere urged congressional offices to respond forcefully.
“You can loudly express your displeasure,” Deere said, arguing that the ramifications would extend beyond UNRWA and set a precedent affecting the broader U.N. system.
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, Nov. 27, 2023. (Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters)
“If they go ahead and do this, our recourse with regard to this is limited,” he said, adding that one step that could be taken is that “Congress can override the designation.”
The meeting featured UNRWA field leadership describing conditions and operations in Gaza and the West Bank.
Sam Rose, director of UNRWA affairs in Gaza, told participants that international staff were not entering Gaza because of the Israeli Knesset legislation, and that operations were being managed remotely.
Rose said that despite claims that UNRWA has been blocked, the agency’s services in Gaza haven’t stopped for a single day, pointing to primary healthcare, education, water and sanitation work, shelter operations and the use of UNRWA facilities as emergency shelters.
Rose also described the agency’s ability to operate programs that do not rely on immediate supply deliveries.
“Cash assistance and job creation programs are also able to continue,” he said and added, “we’re able to operate at scale.”
United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) building in Gaza, June 2023. (Ahmed Zakot/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Roland Friedrich, introduced as director of UNRWA affairs in the West Bank, described UNRWA’s scale in the territory, including education, healthcare and assistance programs. He said UNRWA provides support to hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees, including aid that “can be cash assistance,” along with other forms such as food vouchers and social protection payments.
Friedrich also described “cash for rent” assistance for displaced people, and argued that UNRWA’s presence plays a stabilizing role across multiple countries in the region.
The officials also discussed workarounds that allow UNRWA to keep operating under restrictions.
Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) holds a press conference in Jerusalem, Oct. 27, 2023. (Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Rose said UNRWA was still able to receive fuel and that certain coordination occurred through third parties, describing indirect engagement involving U.N. channels. He said fuel could run power generators and water pumps and emphasized the importance of keeping basic services running.
On aid flows, Rose said Israel was reporting truck numbers that reached 600 per day, and he said he did not have reason to doubt the overall count. At the same time, he argued that the mix of goods entering had shifted, with commercial supplies playing a larger role while certain humanitarian items remained restricted for U.N. agencies. He described what he called a two-tier system, where some items blocked from U.N. use could enter through private channels.
Beyond the operational discussion, the briefing included explicit advocacy aimed at congressional offices.
Kronenfeld urged participants to support legislation described in the meeting as the UNRWA Funding Emergency Restoration Act of 2025, and she thanked offices already backing efforts to restore U.S. funding, describing the United States as historically UNRWA’s largest donor before the funding halt in 2024.
UNRWA USA did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Fox News Digital. UNRWA also did not respond.
William Deere, director of the UNRWA Representative Office in Washington, D.C., provided the following statement in response to a request for comment from Fox News Digital:
“UNRWA participates in briefings hosted by the UNRWA USA National Committee and attended by bicameral groups of Republican and Democratic staff from Capitol Hill, as well as think tanks and nongovernmental organizations. Briefings like these are important opportunities for the Agency to respond to the government of Israel’s ongoing disinformation campaign suggesting that UNRWA is no longer actively working in Gaza. Quite the opposite is true. Every day, UNRWA staff are delivering critical services in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. In fact, in a recent letter to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, UNRWA thanked President Trump for negotiating the ceasefire, which allows the world to turn to Gaza’s future.”
Palestinians protest outside the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Gaza City against the reduction of food aid provided for the refugees, June 20, 2023. (Majdi Fathi/TPS)
Deere added: “In Gaza, UNRWA medical personnel deliver 40 percent of primary healthcare and play a critical role in distributing water, promoting public health through immunization campaigns, pest control, nutrition screenings, and the disposal of solid waste. UNRWA is also leading the way in Gaza education, stepping up its ‘back to learning’ program, with almost 70,000 children now accessing the Agency’s in-person learning activities. The West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is also a challenging area in which to work, especially given the various laws approved by the Israeli Knesset, and policymakers are always interested to hear the impacts of these laws firsthand from our experts.”
