ROME — The United Nations received pledges Thursday of nearly $100 million in new funding for the UN relief agency for Palestinians after the United States slashed its aid, but it is still facing a nearly $350 million shortfall.

Multiple countries announced funding during an emergency conference: Qatar, Canada, Switzerland, Turkey, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, Mexico, Slovakia, India and France.

UN Secretary General ­Antonio Guterres said an important first step was reached with the new pledges. But he said there was a long way to go to fully fund the agency, which went into the conference facing a $446 million gap in financing this year after the United States, which has provided a third of the agency’s budget, announced it was withholding aid.

‘‘If UNRWA would not exist, if these services were not provided, the security of region would be severely undermined,’’ Guterres told reporters. ‘‘Now it is absolutely essential that the extraordinary unanimity in political support . . . translates itself into cash.’’

ASSOCIATED PRESS