Russia on Tuesday denounced the suspension of humanitarian funds by several Western countries to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), describing it as a “collective punishment” for the Gaza population. At least 16 Western countries, including the United States, suspended funding to the UN agency last week, after Israel accused some of its staff members of involvement in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli territory. During a press conference in Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov criticized the Western countries’ “wrong decision” as a “collective punishment” against the Gaza residents, which is “prohibited” by international humanitarian law.