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

This article is published in association with United Nations. “People in Gaza are neither dead nor alive, they are walking corpses.”  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 […]

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

This article is published in association with United Nations. Amid disputed reports of Israeli forces firing on civilians near a new privatised aid distribution point in southern Gaza, the head of the Palestine refugee agency, UNRWA, said on Sunday that lifting the months-long aid blockade of the enclave is the only way to avoid “mass starvation”. […]

UNRWA warns against closure of six schools in East Jerusalem

This article is published in association with United Nations. The education of 800 students in occupied East Jerusalem is at risk as Israel moves to close their schools next week, a senior official with the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, said on Wednesday.  “It’s a grave threat to the right of those children to education,” […]

Gaza: Despite challenges, UNRWA says ‘unparalleled progress’ made during ceasefire

Since the ceasefire began in Gaza on 19 January, “unparalleled progress” has been made in providing desperately needed aid to families across the devastated enclave, said UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, on Thursday. Agency teams have worked around the clock to provide services to a people who are overwhelmed following 15 months of constant bombardment, […]

Interview: Young Palestinians in East Jerusalem shut out of UNRWA training centre

This article is published in association with United Nations. The UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, condemned efforts by Israeli officials on Tuesday to shut down an UNRWA-run training centre in occupied East Jerusalem. Agency chief Philippe Lazzarini said that Israeli forces and personnel from the Jerusalem local authority “forcefully entered” the Kalandia Training Centre and […]

Israeli military operation displaces 40,000 in the West Bank

This article is published in association with United Nations. The forced displacement of Palestinian communities in the northern part of the West Bank is escalating at an alarming pace, the UN agency that assists Palestine refugees UNRWA warned on Monday.  Several refugee camps are nearly empty after Israeli forces launched Operation Iron Wall on 21 January, […]

Palestinians’ rights matter, says UNRWA chief

This article is published in association with United Nations. The head of UN Palestine refugee agency UNRWA underscored its commitment to assist a population whose rights “continue to be violated”.  In a social media post on Friday, Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said that “people in Gaza have undergone systematic dehumanization” since the war there began. He emphasized […]

UNRWA delivers bulk of aid in Gaza, as destruction mounts in West Bank

This article is published in association with United Nations. Some 30,000 residents from Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank have fled their homes after large swathes of it were destroyed in a series of controlled detonations by the Israeli security forces (ISF), the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) said on Tuesday. UNRWA’s communications […]

West Bank violence undermining Gaza ceasefire: UNRWA

This article is published in association with United Nations. Escalating hostilities in the occupied West Bank are putting the fragile ceasefire in Gaza at risk, the UN agency that assists Palestine refugees, UNRWA, warned in a statement on Monday.  It comes a day after Israeli Security Forces (ISF) carried out a series of controlled detonations at […]

Gazans depend on us for ‘sheer survival’ insists UNRWA

This article is published in association with United Nations. The largest UN agency in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, UNRWA, said on Friday that its staff are still providing aid to the people of Gaza and the West Bank including East Jerusalem who depend on them “for their sheer survival”, a day after the Israeli parliament ban […]

UNRWA ‘continues to deliver’ as Israeli ban comes into effect

This article is published in association with United Nations. UN Palestine refugee agency UNRWA on Thursday upheld its commitment to support millions across the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) as Israel’s order for it to cease operations went into effect.  “UNRWA continues to deliver assistance and services to the communities we serve,” the agency said in a […]

Israel’s new laws banning UNRWA already taking effect

This article is published in association with United Nations. Israeli legislation banning the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, is due to enter into force in the coming hours, bringing fundamental changes to its operations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, according to the agency and Palestinians they serve in Gaza who spoke with UN News on […]

Israel UNRWA ban will undermine Gaza ceasefire, Security Council hears

This article is published in association with United Nations. The implementation of new Israeli laws banning the UN Palestine refugee agency, UNRWA – set to take effect on Thursday – will heighten instability and deepen despair in the occupied Palestinian territory, the Security Council has heard. Briefing ambassadors in New York on Tuesday, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe […]

UNRWA chief: Ceasefire is the start, not the solution

This article is published in association with United Nations. Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) on Friday welcomed the Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal, pledging to scale up aid delivery across the stricken enclave once it comes into effect. Speaking to reporters at UN Headquarters in New York, Mr. Lazzarini emphasised […]

UN General Assembly demands Gaza ceasefire and hostage release, affirms ‘full support’ for UNRWA

The General Assembly adopted two key resolutions on Wednesday night, demanding an immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of all hostages. It also reaffirmed its full support for the embattled UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA). The actions were taken at the Assembly’s resumed 10th emergency special session, following […]

UNRWA chief: Agency enduring ‘darkest moment’, as Israeli laws threaten operations

This article is published in association with United Nations. The UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, is living through the “darkest moment” of its 75 year history, Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said on Wednesday, pointing to a trifecta of legislative, operational and security challenges. Speaking at a press conference at UN Headquarters in New York, he detailed […]

Gaza: ‘People losing hope’ as aid access is refused to north, warns UNRWA

This article is published in association with United Nations. Dead bodies are lying in the streets of besieged northern Gaza while hospitals run out of blood packs – a situation that’s “nothing short of catastrophic”, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said on Tuesday. Briefing reporters in Geneva from central Gaza, UNRWA senior emergency officer […]

Aid restrictions and dismantling UNRWA will compound Gazans’ suffering

This article is published in association with United Nations. Aid entering Gaza reached a new low in October, the head of UN Palestine refugee agency UNRWA said on Monday, highlighting the continued need for its lifesaving work even as Israel moves to end its activities.  The Israeli Parliament, known as the Knesset, recently approved two laws […]

Potentially ‘deadly’ consequences could arise from Israel’s UNRWA ban: UNICEF

This article is published in association with United Nations. The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Thursday that Israeli legislation to shut down the main lifeline for Palestine refugees in Gaza “will be deadly” if fully implemented.  The Israeli Parliament, known as the Knesset, adopted two bills on Monday banning UN Palestine refugee agency UNRWA from […]

Israeli laws blocking UNRWA – devastating humanitarian impact for Palestinians?

This article is published in association with United Nations. On Monday, Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, voted in favour of legislation targeting the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, which could effectively bring its operations in the occupied Palestinian territories to a halt. Here are five things to know about the bills and the potential consequences if […]

UNRWA cannot be replaced, say UN top officials in response to Knesset ban

This article is published in association with United Nations. Top UN officials continued to line up on Tuesday to defend the irreplaceable role of the global body’s agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, insisting that if implemented, the Israeli parliament’s decision to ban it would only deepen suffering in Gaza. Echoing UN Secretary-General António Guterres’s warning late […]

Israeli Knesset vote on UNRWA set to deepen Palestinian suffering

This article is published in association with United Nations. Monday’s vote by the Israeli Knesset banning the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) contradicts principles of the UN Charter, violates Israel’s obligations under international law, and sets a dangerous precedent, the head of the Agency, Philippe Lazzarini has warned. The UN chief pledged later he would […]

‘The smell of death is everywhere’ in northern Gaza, UNRWA chief says

This article is published in association with United Nations. The head of UN Palestine refugee agency UNRWA appealed on Tuesday for an immediate truce in northern Gaza in a social media post describing how “three weeks of non-stop bombardments” by Israeli forces have impacted the region. UNRWA staff report that they cannot find food, water or […]

Gaza: School set for polio vaccine campaign hit in deadly strike, says UNRWA

This article is published in association with United Nations. A second round of polio vaccinations for thousands of children began in central Gaza on Monday despite reported strikes on a school-turned-shelter in Nuseirat and a hospital courtyard in Deir Al-Balah where “multiple tents” were set ablaze as people slept. “Throughout the night, I spoke to a […]

Sanitary disaster in Gaza ‘worsening by the day’, warns UNRWA

This article is published in association with United Nations. Overcrowded shelters in Gaza, a lack of running water and the constant threat of disease are making conditions worse by the day for people in the enclave, the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, warned on Monday. In a new alert, UNRWA highlighted how Gazans’ shelters have become a target for […]

Gaza: Six UNRWA staff killed in strikes on school sheltering displaced people

This article is published in association with United Nations. Six staff members with the UN agency that assists Palestine refugees, UNRWA, were killed in Gaza on Wednesday when two Israeli airstrikes hit a school-turned-shelter and its surroundings.  “This is the highest death toll among our staff in a single incident,” UNRWA said in a post on the social […]

Gaza: There is no alternative to UNRWA, Guterres declares

This article is published in association with United Nations. UN Secretary-General António Guterres, standing alongside top officials in New York on Friday, underscored the essential need to bolster the UN agency assisting Palestine refugees (UNRWA) across the Middle East amid continued attacks on its mandate, staff, premises and operations. Speaking at a pledging conference for the […]

Commission will proceed to paying EUR 50 million to UNRWA and increase emergency support to Palestinians by EUR 68 million in 2024

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Today, the Commission has decided to allocate an additional EUR 68 million to support the Palestinian population across the region to be implemented through international partners like the Red Cross and the Red Crescent. This comes in addition to the foreseen EUR 82 million […]

Palestine: EU announces €261 million in support of UNRWA’s operations

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Union confirmed today its role as a long-standing, predictable and reliable partner of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and one of its largest donors. The European Commission adopted €261 million as the […]

EU announces vital €92 million contribution in support of UNRWA’s operations

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Union has disbursed an essential payment of €92 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the Commission, Josep Borrell, said: “We remain determined to support UNRWA both […]

EU mobilises €21 million to support Palestine refugees via the UN Relief and Works Agency

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission will mobilise additional €21 million for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) on top of €82 million already paid into the programme budget this year to support vulnerable Palestine Refugees in the Middle East. Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and […]

‘Bleakest period yet’ in Occupied Palestinian Territory: UN human rights expert

This article is brought to you in association with the United Nations. Reports of the indignities faced by people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory have “painted the bleakest picture yet” of the human rights situation there, a United Nations expert has said. Special Rapporteur Michael Lynk was in Amman, Jordan, this week where he met with […]

Easing funding woes for UN agency assisting Palestine refugees a ‘wise investment for today and the future’

This article is brought to you in association with the United Nations. A pledging conference on Monday for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) aimed to address the body’s chronic funding shortfall and also examine long-term priorities. “The outstanding work of UNRWA has an immediate effect by […]

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