A new blow for UNRWA as headquarters in East Jerusalem ‘set on fire’

It comes after Israeli authorities “stormed and demolished” buildings in the compound last week, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said. “Allowing this unprecedented destruction is the latest attack on the UN in the ongoing attempt to dismantle the status of Palestine Refugees in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and erase their history,” Mr. Lazzarini said. In a […]

UNRWA headquarters bulldozed in East Jerusalem

Responding to the dramatic development, head of the UN agency for Palestine refugees Philippe Lazzarini described it as an “unprecedented attack” against the UN, whose premises are protected under international law. The move represents “a new level of open and deliberate defiance of international law, including of the privileges and immunities of the United Nations, […]

Aid blockade deepens Gaza crisis as malnutrition deaths rise, warns UNRWA

Aid blockade deepens Gaza crisis as malnutrition deaths rise, warns UNRWA

“For over 150 days, not a single truck from UNRWA has been permitted to deliver food, medicine or other essentials into Gaza,” the agency said on Friday. “This denial of access is costing lives every single day.” Nearly 100 children dead from malnutrition According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, cited by the UN, at least […]

‘Famine silently begins to unfold’ in Gaza, UNRWA chief says

‘Famine silently begins to unfold’ in Gaza, UNRWA chief says

Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), said that is what one of its workers told him on Thursday morning.   This sobering comment comes amidst increasingly severe malnutrition for children and adults throughout the Gaza Strip.   “When child malnutrition surges, coping mechanisms fail, access to food […]

Lifting of Israeli blockade ‘the only way to avert mass starvation’ in Gaza: UNRWA chief

Lifting of Israeli blockade ‘the only way to avert mass starvation’ in Gaza: UNRWA chief

Philippe Lazzarini posted on social media saying that aid distribution “has become a death trap,” citing reports from international medical staff on the ground and local health authorities who reported at least 31 deaths and more than 150 injured as civilians were lining up to receive aid from the Israel and United States-backed Gaza Humanitarian […]

UNRWA condemns ‘storming’ of schools in East Jerusalem

UNRWA condemns ‘storming’ of schools in East Jerusalem

According to the agency, heavily armed personnel entered the schools in Shu’fat refugee camp on Thursday while classes were in session, forcing more than 550 Palestinian girls and boys – some as young as six – out of their classrooms. One UNRWA staff member was detained, and all of the agency-run schools in East Jerusalem […]

UNRWA warns against closure of six schools in East Jerusalem

UNRWA warns against closure of six schools in East Jerusalem

“It’s a grave threat to the right of those children to education,” Roland Friedrich, Director of UNRWA Affairs for the West Bank, told UN News. The development follows two Israeli laws that went into effect in late January which ban UNRWA from operating in its territory and prohibit Israeli authorities from having any contact with […]