UNITED NATIONS, United States, Jan 28, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - UN chief Antonio Guterres pleaded on Saturday for donor states to "guarantee the continuity" of the body's Palestinian refugee agency after several halted funding over accusations of staff involvement in Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel.

"While I understand their concerns -- I was myself horrified by these accusations -- I strongly appeal to the governments that have suspended their contributions to, at least, guarantee the continuity of UNRWA's operations," Guterres said in a statement, referring to the agency's acronym.