UNRWA: ‘Concerted campaign’ to end our work

New YORK: The head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency warned of “a deliberate and concerted campaign” aimed at ending its operations as Israel accused the organisation of employing over 450 “military operatives” from Hamas and other armed groups.

Philippe Lazzarini (pic) did not specifically address the latest allegations made by the Israeli military on Monday, but he called out Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for “openly stating that UNRWA will not be part of postwar Gaza.”

“UNRWA is facing a deliberate and concerted campaign to undermine its operations, and ultimately end them,” Lazzarini – head of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) – told the UN General Assembly.

“The implementation of this plan is already underway with the destruction of our infrastructure across the Gaza Strip,” he said.

“Dismantling UNRWA is short sighted. By doing so, we will sacrifice an entire generation of children, sowing the seeds of hatred, resentment, and future conflict.”

Lazzarini told the 193-member assembly that UNRWA was “functioning hand-to-mouth” after 16 countries paused a total of U$450mil in funding when Israel in January accused 12 UNRWA staff of taking part in the Oct 7 attack by Hamas.

The UNRWA staff were fired and an independent internal UN investigation launched.

“The fate of the agency, and the millions of people who depend on it, hang in the balance,” Lazzarini said, describing UNRWA as “the backbone of humanitarian assistance in Gaza.”

UNRWA employs 13,000 people in Gaza, running schools, healthcare clinics and other social services, and distributing humanitarian aid.

The UN has said some 3,000 are currently still working to deliver aid in Gaza, where 576,000 people – one quarter of the population – are one step away from famine.

“In Gaza, the UN is a terror organisation itself,” Israel’s UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan told the General Assembly earlier on Monday.