UNRWA ‘very near’ possible breaking point in Gaza operation, head says
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UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said the agency was facing a combination of financial and political threats to its existence.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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BERLIN – The UN Palestinian refugee agency is close to a possible breaking point in its operations in the Gaza Strip due to increasingly complicated conditions, its head said on Oct 16.
“I will not hide the fact that we might reach a point that we won’t be able to operate anymore,” United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) chief Philippe Lazzarini said at a news conference in Berlin.
“We are very near to a possible breaking point. When will it be? I don’t know. But we are very close,” he said.
He said the agency was facing a combination of financial and political threats to its existence, in addition to difficulties in day-to-day operations, even as aid is even more desperately needed amid the threat of disease and famine.
Heading into winter, and with people’s immune systems weakened, there is a real risk of famine or acute malnutrition, he said.
UNRWA provides education, health and aid to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
It has long had tense relations with Israel but ties have deteriorated sharply since the start of the war in Gaza.
Israel launched its offensive against Hamas after the Palestinian militant group led attacks on Israel on Oct 7, 2023, in which 1,200 people were killed and around 250 taken hostage to Gaza.
More than 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in the offensive, according to Gaza’s health authorities.
Israeli leaders in January accused UNRWA staff of collaborating with Hamas militants in Gaza, leading some donors to suspend funding, although many of those decisions have since been reversed.
The UN launched an investigation into Israel’s accusations and dismissed nine staff. REUTERS
