UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini warned of the humanitarian situation facing Palestinian refugees—particularly in the Gaza Strip—where “two million people are being starved.”

Lazzarini condemned the international response to the crisis as marked by "horror, inaction, and impunity", declaring that the so-called newly created “aid mechanism” designed to facilitate humanitarian relief in Gaza is nothing short of “an abomination that humiliates and degrades desperate people.”

“It is a death-trap,” Lazzarini added, “costing more lives than it saves. Food is weaponized, and Palestinians are dehumanized, without consequence.”

Since the onset of Israel’s assault on Gaza twenty months ago, the enclave has witnessed catastrophic devastation. Over 55,000 Palestinians have been reported killed—“most of them women and children,” Lazzarini said—while those who survive are “shadows of their former selves.”

The war has displaced the overwhelming majority of Gaza’s population, destroyed public infrastructure, and crippled access to food, clean water, and healthcare.

Lazzarini warned that the strategy to strip Palestinians of their refugee status is no longer a hidden agenda but a central objective of the war: “So great is the desire to sever Palestinians from Palestine that UNRWA itself has become a target.”

According to the UNRWA chief, at least 318 of the agency’s staff have been killed in Gaza, including entire families. The Israeli Knesset’s passage of legislation in January prohibiting UNRWA’s operation in what it considers sovereign territory—including occupied East Jerusalem—has resulted in the de facto expulsion of international UNRWA personnel from the occupied Palestinian territory.

Nevertheless, Lazzarini emphasized that UNRWA’s Palestinian staff—despite “arrests, intimidation and harassment”—have continued to deliver lifesaving services in Gaza. “Even in the dystopian horror that is Gaza,” he noted, “UNRWA still provides over 15,000 health consultations per day, manages shelters, supplies clean water, and removes waste.”

Lazzarini also condemned a widespread disinformation campaign he said is being spearheaded by Israel in an effort to undermine the agency’s credibility and choke its funding.

He warned that without immediate and substantial financial support, UNRWA may be forced to scale back operations across the region.

“Palestine refugees will be impacted most severely,” he cautioned, adding that the loss of UNRWA’s stabilizing presence in a region already in turmoil could have “consequential” geopolitical effects, including sparking unrest in neighboring countries.

The Commissioner-General revealed that UN Secretary-General António Guterres has commissioned a strategic assessment of UNRWA’s mandate to explore how the rights of Palestine refugees can be protected amid growing financial and political threats.

Lazzarini closed his statement with a powerful plea to the OIC and its member states to take decisive action: “UNRWA is a tremendous asset if what we seek is a just and lasting solution to the question of Palestine and its people. I urge you to act now, before it is too late for millions of people whose lives and future are in your hands.”