“The dismantling of UNRWA represents the abolition of refugee status for millions of Palestinians”

Abolishing the embattled UN Palestine Refugee Agency (UNRWA) would risk precipitating famine in Gaza and condemning a generation of children “to despair”, fueling “endless cycles of violence”, its chief warned on Wednesday.

The agency, which has more than 30,000 employees in the region (Gaza, West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria), is accused by Israel of employing “more than 400 resistance fighters” in Gaza.

The accusations, made without any evidence, led to the suspension of funding by some donor countries, some of which have since been continued.

United Nations Refugee Agency (UNRWA) Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said on Wednesday that calls to shut down the organization were aimed at “removing the refugee status of millions of Palestinians”.

But UNRWA, which was established by the UN General Assembly in 1949, “is the backbone of humanitarian operations” in Gaza, the UNRWA chief reiterated before the UN Security Council on Wednesday. Lazzarini also stressed that “an insidious campaign to end UNRWA operations is underway, with serious implications for international peace and security.”

Recalling that UNRWA’s mandate “is supported by the vast majority of member states”, he said that “the agency is under enormous pressure, it is facing a complaint that wants to expel the occupied Palestinians from the territory.

“The dismantling of UNRWA will have lasting consequences,” he warned.

“In the short term, this will worsen the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and hasten the onset of famine,” he said.

Famine is already threatening the north of the Palestinian territory, where nearly 34,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed since the Israeli offensive began, according to Hamas’ health ministry.

“In the long term, this will jeopardize the transition from the ceasefire to + the day after + by denying basic services to the traumatized population,” insisted the head of the Agency that managed schools and hospitals in Gaza.

“This will make the task of returning to education a mammoth task for nearly half a million deeply affected girls and boys.

He also paid tribute to the 178 UNWRA staff killed in Gaza, observing a minute’s silence with all Council members for all humanitarians killed since the start of the Israeli offensive.

At the same time, Lazzarini called for “an independent investigation and prosecution of those responsible for the apparent disregard for the protected status of humanitarian workers, operations and installations under international law.”

Drawing attention to the growing violence in the occupied West Bank, the head of the agency said that “UNRWA’s operational space is shrinking, with arbitrary measures imposed by Israel to limit the presence and movement of aid.”

Referring to the UN’s independent investigation into allegations that some personnel were involved in Hamas attacks, Lazzarini said the suspension of funding by some donors “has serious operational implications and undermines the sustainability of the agency’s financial affairs.

He reaffirmed UNRWA’s commitment to implementing recommendations and strengthening safeguards against violations of neutrality.

“The calls to close UNRWA are not about respecting humanitarian principles. These calls are about ending the refugee status of millions of Palestinians,” Lazzarini stressed.

Noting that “the agency exists because there is no political solution,” Lazzarini said closing UNRWA, which remains a “stabilizing force in Gaza” and the region, would worsen the crisis in Gaza.