The head of the UN refugee agency for Palestinians says Sweden’s move “comes at the worst time” for the refugees, Al Jazeera reports.

Philippe Lazzarini said on X: “Defunding UNRWA now will undermine decades of Sweden’s investment in human development including by denying access to education for hundreds of thousands of girls and boys across the region.”

“For the people of Gaza, this decision will double their suffering endured over the past 14 months since the horrendous Hamas attack on 7 October and the ongoing war,” he added.