Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner-General of UNRWA, stated on Monday that the Gaza war has become an “endless nightmare” nearly a year on, with the sector now “unfit for living.”
During a press conference held in Geneva, Lazzarini mentioned that “the people of Gaza are facing diseases, death, and hunger, as mountains of garbage and sewage fill the streets, now trapped in just 10% of the land, after having been constantly on the move in search of safety they never found.” The Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) also noted that the families of many hostages still held in Gaza are “stuck in a terrible state of uncertainty.”
He highlighted the plight of children, who make up half of Gaza’s population, bearing the brunt of the war, enduring “a painful, profound, and ongoing experience, losing hope for a better future.” Lazzarini added that during his meetings with member states in New York and Geneva, he requested that education be made a collective priority beyond life-saving activities, noting that UNRWA has already started reintroducing some children to a learning environment last month, despite the unusual and complex environment.
Regarding the situation in the West Bank, Lazzarini explained that “a silent tragedy is unfolding in the West Bank, where security operations have led to widespread destruction of public infrastructure, effectively imposing collective punishment on the population.”
In relation to Lebanon, Philippe Lazzarini pointed out that UNRWA is currently providing shelter for 3,500 individuals, including Lebanese, Syrians, and Palestinians, across nine different sites to date.
Campaign of Defamation:
Lazzarini also raised with member states “the ongoing attacks that the agency is subjected to,” noting that 223 UNRWA staff have been killed so far, and two-thirds of its facilities in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed. He referred to legislative efforts in the Knesset aimed at expelling UNRWA from its headquarters in East Jerusalem and revoking its privileges, as well as describing the agency as a “terrorist organization.”
He stated, “It would be utterly unreasonable for a UN member state to label a UN agency—mandated by the UN General Assembly—as a terrorist organization. This would greatly exceed UNRWA and set a precedent that would undoubtedly weaken an important tool of our multilateral system.”
Lazzarini added, “It is shortsighted to believe that abolishing the agency would solve the broader issues related to Palestinian refugees, such as the right of return. Because the right of return, or a compensation scheme within a political solution for those who decide not to return, was stipulated in Resolution 194 long before UNRWA was established.” He continued that “UNRWA still faces a significant funding deficit between now and the end of the year, and the outlook for next year appears somewhat bleak as several donors have indicated they will enter austerity budgets starting in 2025.”
In response to questions about the case of former UNRWA employee “Fatah Sharif,” who reports from Hamas claimed was a leader for them in Lebanon and was killed in an Israeli airstrike, Lazzarini said that accusations were first directed at Fatah Sharif in March, and UNRWA took immediate action by suspending him without pay pending an investigation, which was still ongoing. He said, “The allegation against him was that he was part of Hamas’ local leadership,” adding, “The word leader never came up. I had not heard the word leader before you asked me, or before today’s statement. So that was not part of the allegations.”
