The Foreign Office said it was “appalled” by the claims as it followed the UnitedStates, Canada, Australia and Italy in putting its funding on hold.
Israel has vowed to ban the UNRWA from operating in Gaza once the war is over after the agency sacked the workers on Friday.
Foreign Office documents show Britain has given UNRWA £27 million ($56 million) in aid since October 2022.
A memorandum of understanding between the Foreign Office and UNRWA shows Britain planned to hand it a further £2 million on April 15 this year and £9 million on October 1 .
Israeli women demand the immediate release of the Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip by Hamas. Photo / AP
But the Foreign Office has now said it is “temporarily pausing any future funding of UNRWA whilst we review these concerning allegations.
“We remain committed to getting humanitarian aid to the people in Gaza who desperately need it,” it added.
Robert Jenrick, the former cabinet minister, who had accused ministers of having been “too blasé about who we have funded and for what purpose”, said: “I’m pleased the UK has followed the US in pausing support to UNRWA whilst these allegations are investigated.
“It’s an organisation whose leadership has fallen into a moral morass of complicity with Hamas, turning a blind eye to the terrorists,” he told The Telegraph.
“We need a new mechanism to support the people of Gaza that can drive economic development, demilitarisation and deradicalisation, once Hamas have been eradicated.”
The US State Department said that it had paused its funding “while we review these allegations and the steps the United Nations is taking to address them”.
It said allegations had been made against 12 UNRWA employees.
Ahmed Hussen, Canada’s aid minister, said the country was “deeply troubled by the allegations relating to some UNRWA employees”.
Deeply concerned
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Penny Wong, the foreign minister of Australia, said she was “deeply concerned” by the allegations and would “temporarily pause disbursement of recently announced funding” while the allegations are investigated.
Italy has also suspended its funding, with Antonio Tajan, the foreign minister, saying on Saturday morning: “Allied countries have recently made the same decision.”
“Under my leadership, the foreign ministry aims to promote a policy ensuring that UNRWA will not be a part of the day after, addressing other contributing factors,” Katz said.
“We will work to garner bipartisan support in the US, the European Union, and other nations globally for this policy aimed at halting UNRWA’s activities in Gaza.”
Hamas dismissed Israel’s allegations in a statement and urged the UN and other countries to not “cave in to the threats and blackmail”.
The UNRWA said that Israel had handed over intelligence alleging that a number of its workers were involved in October 7.
Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary-general, had been briefed about the allegations, his spokesperson said.
“The Secretary-General is horrified by this news,” said Stephane Dujarric, adding that “an urgent and comprehensive independent review of UNRWA will be conducted”.
The UN Watch, a Geneva-based NGO that scrutinises the work of the UN, earlier this month raised the alarm about alleged Hamas sympathies among multiple UN employees in Gaza.
The group cited hate posts in a Telegram group of about 3000 UNRWA teachers in Gaza, praising the Hamas attackers as “heroes”.
