UNRWA head warns of ‘desperate’ Gaza, ‘silent war’ in West Bank

The head of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees has sounded the alarm over worsening humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip, warning that the enclave’s population remains trapped in a “daily struggle” for survival even as his organization battles an unprecedented campaign to shut it down.

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini, speaking to Anadolu Agency on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Friday, painted a grim picture of life in Gaza more than two years into the war.

“The situation in Gaza is still desperate,” Lazzarini told Anadolu, noting that beyond food shortages, residents “lack almost everything and are still in a survival mode.”

Education a ‘top priority’
Lazzarini stressed that emergency relief alone is insufficient, urging the international community to prioritize the restoration of basic public services, particularly education. More than two years of war have kept Gaza’s children out of school, a crisis he described as deeply consequential.

“Education has to become a top priority for the international community,” he told Anadolu, calling schooling “a key for a better future” for Palestinians.

UNRWA serves as the primary provider of education, healthcare, and social services for Palestinian refugees across Gaza, the West Bank, and eastern al-Quds, a role that has become even more critical following “Israel’s” destruction of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure.

‘Outrageous violations’
The Commissioner-General did not mince words when addressing the mounting political and legal offensive against his agency. He described UNRWA as being “under intense pressure,” pointing to what he called “outrageous violation of international law.”

Chief among his concerns was the destruction of UNRWA’s headquarters compound in occupied al-Quds in January, which Israeli authorities carried out using bulldozers after forcing staff out of the premises. Lazzarini told Anadolu the demolition was “symbolic” yet “very violent” and represented “a desire to annihilate any memory of the Palestinian refugee identity in East Jerusalem.”

A campaign to dismantle UNRWA
The assault on UNRWA’s presence in al-Quds has extended beyond the headquarters. Israeli police also forcibly shuttered an UNRWA health clinic in the Old City that had served Palestinian refugees for 76 years, cutting off primary healthcare access for an estimated 30,000 people who depend on the agency’s medical services in the city.

These actions followed legislation passed by the Israeli Knesset in October 2024 that effectively banned UNRWA from operating anywhere under Israeli occupation, including occupied al-Quds, and stripped its staff of legal immunity.

Lazzarini framed the broader campaign as politically motivated, telling Anadolu that “the main political motivation is to strip the Palestinian from the refugee status.” Despite the pressure, he vowed that UNRWA would continue its operations, emphasizing the need to “push back” and ensure the agency retains the space to deliver for Gaza’s population.

Another war in the West Bank
Turning to the occupied West Bank, the UNRWA chief warned that escalating settlement expansion and settler violence are being dangerously overlooked amid the international focus on Gaza.

“The West Bank is a silent war which has been overshadowed by Gaza,” Lazzarini told Anadolu, describing the acceleration of illegal settlement activity and the violence accompanying it as operating under “total impunity”.

He urged the international community to act before the situation “completely undermined the future of a two-state solution,” warning that Palestinians in the West Bank are living in a pervasive “atmosphere of fear.”

Lazzarini concluded by calling for Palestinian interests to be placed at the center of any post-war planning or broader peace discussions.