Portugal pledges 10m euros in aid to UNRWA
Portugal has said it will give 10 million euros ($10.89m) to the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA as a one-off contribution intended to provide food, medicine and humanitarian aid to Palestinians, Reuters reports.
The amount was announced by acting Cabinet Affairs Minister Mariana Vieira da Silva following a cabinet meeting. A Foreign Ministry official described the amount as new additional aid that had not been in the state budget for 2024.
Caretaker Prime Minister Antonio Costa said earlier he would inform UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, a fellow Portuguese who has repeatedly called for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, of the 10m euro contribution.
“We are all unanimous in condemning the barbaric attack that took place on October 7 against Israel, but we must all also be unanimous in condemning the unacceptable way in which Israel is currently exercising its right to defence,” Costa told reporters ahead of a European Council meeting in Brussels.