“That’s why I have written directly to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to express profound concern about draft legislation that could prevent UNRWA from continuing its essential work in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” he said at the Security Council stakeout in New York. He said such a measure would suffocate...
In a new alert, UNRWA highlighted how Gazans’ shelters have become a target for insects and rodents after more than 11 months of war – echoing deep concerns among humanitarians about the lack of basic hygiene items that have left families unprotected from communicable diseases. Echoing those warnings, top independent...
In a statement released via his Spokesperson, Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the latest Israeli attack on a school serving as a shelter in Nuseirat on Wednesday, which killed six staffers from the UN Palestine refugee agency, UNRWA, along with at least 12 others, including women and children. “This incident raises...
Stéphane Dujarric said the UN is working to confirm reports that UNRWA staff were killed in the attack on the New Nuseirat school, a site that had previously been deconflicted with the Israeli authorities. “This is the fifth strike on the same location in the past 11 months,” he said....
135 UNRWA staff members are known to have been killed in Gaza since the escalation of fighting since the 7 October Hamas attacks on Israel. That’s the most ever in one incident but, despite the danger and extremely difficult working conditions, UNRWA is continuing to assist those caught up in...
Philippe Lazzarini was addressing an emergency summit convened by the League of Arab States and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation where he called for urgent support for civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory on three fronts. He called on leaders at the Arab-Islamic summit to “act now to change the trajectory”...
“Without fuel, there will be no water, no functioning hospitals and bakeries. Without fuel, aid will not reach those in desperate need. Without fuel, there will be no humanitarian assistance. No fuel will further strangle the children, women and people of Gaza,” he said in a statement. UNRWA is the...
“Let me be clear: protecting civilians in times of conflict is not an aspiration or an ideal; it is an obligation and a commitment to our shared humanity,” UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini said in a statement. Relentless air strikes and bombardments, coupled with evacuation orders from Israel, have displaced...
The statement came as the Israeli-imposed deadline for some 1.1 million civilians to leave the northern part of the enclave, ahead of what is expected to be a major advance into Gaza by Israeli ground forces, expired. “UNRWA shelters in Gaza and northern Gaza are no longer safe. This is...
The fighting between Palestinian armed groups at Ein El Helweh camp has also forced thousands to flee their homes that have been damaged. Ein El Helweh is one of 12 camps in Lebanon operated by the UN agency that assists Palestine refugees, UNRWA. It provides services to nearly 50,000 people....
Eleven people were killed and another 40 were injured, including a staff member with the UN agency that assists Palestine refugees, UNRWA, said Dorothee Klaus, Director of UNRWA Affairs in Lebanon, citing reports. Two schools operated by the agency sustained damage, and more than 2,000 people were forced to flee in search...
This is the highest rate of mental health need ever recorded, across UNRWA’s medical system. UNRWA’s health programmes support some two million Palestine refugees across Jordan, Lebanon, the occupied Palestinian territory composed of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and Gaza, as well as in Syria. Immensely challenging year Speaking...