Israel's campaign against Unrwa could set precedent to dismantle other UN agencies, chief warns
If UN member states allow Israel to dismantle the only agency that provides education and health services to Palestinians, all other UN agencies could face the same fate, the outgoing commissioner general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (Unrwa) has told Middle East Eye.
In his final interview in the role, Philippe Lazzarini accused the international community of paying lip service to what he described as Israel's attempts to dismantle Unrwa, an objective he said had become a declared war aim.
"The agency has come under massive, massive attack," he told the David Hearst Podcast.
"We have had 391 personnel killed. A few weeks ago, our main headquarters in Sheikh Jarrah was stormed, demolished and set on fire, with officials from the government and parliament expressing jubilation and even arguing over who should take credit.
"We have also faced a massive disinformation campaign. We have had legal cases and three laws passed to try to dismantle us. So yes, there is deep frustration and disappointment that a UN agency has been so blatantly crushed without real action from member states or the international community. The attack on us has taken place with total impunity," he added.
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Lazzarini said he had "absolutely no doubt" that the campaign against Unrwa was politically driven, and that allegations the agency had been infiltrated by Hamas and Islamic Jihad were a pretext designed to alarm donor countries.
An investigation led by the former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna into alleged Unrwa staff involvement in the 7 October attacks found that Israel failed to provide evidence to support its claims.
Nevertheless, within 48 hours of the allegations, 16 donors, including the UK, froze funding. All but the United States and Sweden have since resumed their contributions.
'The attack on us has taken place with total impunity'
- Philippe Lazzarini
Despite the pressure, Lazzarini struck a defiant tone.
"Yes, against all the odds, we are still the main provider of public health," he said.
"We are also involved in vaccination campaigns, provide access to clean water, and run waste management services to prevent the spread of disease. We are focusing on restoring education and bringing children back into a learning environment."
Since Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, the relentless bombing campaign has targeted residential areas, schools, hospitals, mosques, churches, civilian infrastructure and UN shelters.
Health services are on the brink of collapse, with doctors forced to operate without adequate equipment or medicine, and the spread of disease accelerating in overcrowded shelters.
According to Lazzarini, Unrwa continues to operate in Gaza with around 11,000 staff.
The agency is still managing to provide 20,000 primary healthcare consultations daily, while up to 70,000 children have returned to in-person learning and more than 250,000 access distance education.
Declining funding from Arab states
Israel was admitted as a UN member state in 1949 on the condition that it recognise Resolution 194, affirming the "natural and legitimate right" of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and receive compensation.
But Israel's campaign against Unrwa is aimed at undermining that right of return - a core issue in final status negotiations - as it is the only UN agency that recognises Palestinian refugees and their descendants.
However, Lazzarini stressed that even if the agency were dismantled, the status of Palestinian refugees would not be affected.
"Most of the attacks on the agency are undertaken under the belief that this would strip Palestinians of their status. But this is completely wrong," he said.
"Palestinian refugees, regardless of whether the agency continues to provide services, will keep their status, and the status basically will also go to the generation to come until there is a lasting political solution."
will keep their status, and the status basically will also go to the generation to come until there is a lasting political solution
Despite the resilience of its staff, Lazzarini depicted an agency struggling to survive.
He was particularly critical of declining funding from Arab states, which he said had dropped by 90 percent since 2024.
"Have member states done enough? Obviously not enough to protect the agency," he said.
"Hence my alarm to the members of the General Assembly, telling them that if you do not pay more attention to Unrwa, the agency might not be viable anymore in the future.
"We cannot continue to navigate a constant chronic lack of resources and at the same time seeing also our operational space shrinking because of political considerations".
He noted that the US has halted funding, Sweden - previously a top-five donor - has also withdrawn, and contributions from Arab countries have sharply declined.
'We may lose an entire generation'
As global attention shifts towards the US and Israeli war on Iran, Lazzarini said that Israel continues to restrict the flow of food and medical aid into Gaza.
Following the ceasefire, 800 trucks per day were expected to enter Gaza through Rafah. Lazzarini said the reality was "nothing like 800".
Aid organisations estimate that at least 600 trucks per day are needed to sustain the population. However, even this figure can be misleading, as Israeli authorities have at times required trucks to be only partially loaded.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has been unable to bring in supplies this year. Dr Randa Abu El-Khair Masoud, MSF project medical referent, said there are critical shortages of medicines for chronic diseases, surgical supplies and essential equipment.
"Since we cannot bring in new supplies or spare parts, malfunctioning equipment can force us to postpone or suspend surgeries, with serious consequences for patients," she said.
In the interview, Lazzarini dismissed Israel's suggestion that other UN agencies could replace Unrwa.
"It's far from that. There are no other UN agencies which are geared to provide the public services we do.UNICEF can support education but it does not have the resources or the mandate to provide the entire primary and secondary education of hundreds of thousands of girls and boys in Gaza."
He insisted Unrwa can only truly be replaced by a functioning Palestinian state - the original intention behind its creation.
Over decades, he said, the agency has educated generations of Palestinians.
Everywhere Lazzarini goes, he meets Palestinians who attended Unrwa schools and say they would not be where they are today without that education.
"Palestinians have had their land, their houses taken away from them. We have to redouble our effort to make sure that education remains an asset that we cannot take away from the Palestinians," he said.
"Today, the risk in Gaza is that we may lose an entire generation. But even across the region, if the agency continues to be weakened, it will also impact the quality of our education. This would be terrible for the future cohesion among the Palestinians," he added.
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