Lazzarini warns on risk of UNRWA’s collapse

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) chief warned on Friday that if the embattled UN agency for Palestinian refugees were to collapse, it would deprive a generation of children of education.

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Pointing to a dire funding situation, Philippe Lazzarini warned of “the real risk of the agency collapsing and imploding.”

If that were to happen, he said, “we would definitely sacrifice a generation of kids, who would be deprived of proper education.”

For more than seven decades, the UNRWA for Palestine Refugees has provided essential aid, assistance, and services like education and healthcare to Palestinian refugees.

Lazzarini has described the organization as “a lifeline” for nearly six million Palestinian refugees under its charge, across Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria.

But UNRWA has long been a lightning rod for harsh Israeli criticism, which ramped up dramatically after Hamas's deadly attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2093, sparked the devastating war in Gaza.

Israel's allegation early last year that some UNRWA staff took part in that attack spurred a string of nations to at least temporarily halt their backing for the already cash-strapped agency.

And earlier this year, Israel opted to sever ties with UNRWA, banning it from operating on Israeli soil.