Following the United States' decision to reduce UN funding for Palestinians, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has cut its workforce in the Gaza Strip.

Of the 13,000 UNRWA staffers working in the coastal area, the cuts will have repercussions for some 1,000 people who are responsible for humanitarian aid, UNRWA Director Matthias Schmale told dpa Monday. 
The majority of those humanitarian staffers will be shifted from full-time to part-time work, while around 100 will lose their jobs starting on September 1, Schmale said.
"We have to scale down in order to safeguard the food aid," he said. US President Donald Trump cut aid to UNRWA amid tensions between his administration and the Palestinian leadership over the president's
move to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December. 
The US provided 365 million dollars for humanitarian aid and projects last year, Schmale said. Washington has only provided 60 million dollars so far this year.
The UNRWA supports around 1 million people with food aid, operates 275 schools and 22 health centres.

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