America News Agency

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini issued a statement after his high-level contacts at the Vatican regarding the agency’s future and the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Referring to the importance of his meeting with the Pope, Lazzarini said: “It was an honor for me to have a private meeting with Pope Leo XIV. I informed him about the immense suffering Palestinians endure in the occupied Palestinian territory, as well as the political and financial challenges UNRWA is facing. I stressed that attacks on UNRWA are an attack on the multilateral system and a violation of international law, and that they will have repercussions far beyond the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

Drawing attention to the education situation of children in Gaza, Lazzarini added: “I emphasized that bringing back into an educational environment more than 600,000 girls and boys living amid the rubble of Gaza must be our shared priority to prevent the emergence of a lost generation.”

Lazzarini concluded: “I asked for the Holy Father’s support to preserve UNRWA’s critical services in education, public health, and social safety nets for Palestine Refugees in Gaza and across the region until a just and fair political solution is achieved.”