America News Agency

UNRWA Commissioner-General Lazzarini stressed that UNRWA's unique mission among United Nations entities is to provide direct public services, including education for over half a million children and basic health services.

Lazzarini highlighted that UNRWA is one of the victims of the war in Gaza, stating, "At least 243 UNRWA staff members have been killed. Others have been detained and reported being tortured. More than two-thirds of UNRWA-owned buildings have been damaged or destroyed. Besides attacks in the occupied Palestinian territories, the Agency is subjected to an intense global disinformation campaign. UNRWA takes allegations of neutrality violations very seriously."

Lazzarini conveyed that UNRWA is an easy target for warring parties who see its existence as a threat, stating, "The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Organization has repeatedly and publicly accused UNRWA, especially its senior leaders, of collaborating with the Israeli occupation. The organization has long opposed UNRWA's educational program and questions our commitment to gender equality and neutrality. Let me be clear, UNRWA is not a party to this conflict; it is a UN-affiliated institution."

Lazzarini warned of the catastrophic consequences of implementing Knesset legislation, saying, "The dissolution of UNRWA in Gaza would lead to the collapse of the UN’s humanitarian intervention, which heavily relies on the Agency's infrastructure. In the absence of UNRWA, an entire generation will be deprived of the right to education. In the West Bank, the collapse of UNRWA would deprive at least 50,000 children of education and half a million Palestinian refugees of basic health services."