International Desk:

Germany has said it will restore cooperation and funding to Unrwa operations in the Gaza Strip after an independent review said Israel had not provided evidence to back up claims that hundreds of employees of the UN agency for Palestinians were members of terrorist organisations.

Berlin’s foreign and development ministries said in a joint statement on Wednesday that following Monday’s publication of the review, conducted by the former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna, the German government would soon resume cooperation with the UN’s Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa).

Germany’s decision follows those made earlier by several other major donors, including Australia, Canada, Sweden and Japan, to restore ties with Unwra after the Israeli government claimed in January that members of the agency had been involved in planning and carrying out the Hamas attack of 7 October that triggered the now-six-month-old war in Gaza.