UNRWA Chief ‘Cautiously Optimistic’ Some Donors Will Resume Funding Soon

 UN Palestinian refugee aid agency (UNRWA) chief Philippe Lazzarini gives a joint press conference with Spain's Minister of Foreign Affairs in Madrid on March 7, 2024. (AFP)
UN Palestinian refugee aid agency (UNRWA) chief Philippe Lazzarini gives a joint press conference with Spain's Minister of Foreign Affairs in Madrid on March 7, 2024. (AFP)
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UNRWA Chief ‘Cautiously Optimistic’ Some Donors Will Resume Funding Soon

 UN Palestinian refugee aid agency (UNRWA) chief Philippe Lazzarini gives a joint press conference with Spain's Minister of Foreign Affairs in Madrid on March 7, 2024. (AFP)
UN Palestinian refugee aid agency (UNRWA) chief Philippe Lazzarini gives a joint press conference with Spain's Minister of Foreign Affairs in Madrid on March 7, 2024. (AFP)

The head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency said he was cautiously optimistic some donors would start funding it again within weeks, warning it was "at risk of death" after Israel alleged some of its staff took part in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.

An independent review of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has been launched under French former foreign minister Catherine Colonna, and the final report is expected to be published next month.

"I am cautiously optimistic that within the next few weeks, and also following the publication of Catherine Colonna's report, a number of donors will return," UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said in an interview with Swiss broadcaster RTS that was aired on Saturday.

Lazzarini told RTS that UNRWA was at "risk of death, at risk of dismantlement."

Colonna, whose work on the review began in mid-February, said on Saturday she would visit Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Ramallah and Amman next week.

UNRWA, which provides aid and essential services to Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the Israeli-occupied West Bank and across the region, has been in crisis since Israel accused 12 of its 13,000 staff in Gaza of involvement in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel that triggered the war in the Palestinian enclave.

The allegations prompted several countries, including the United States, to pause funding.

When the allegations emerged, UNRWA fired some staff members, saying it acted to protect the agency's ability to deliver humanitarian assistance, and an independent internal UN investigation was launched.

UNRWA said some employees released into Gaza from Israeli detention reported having been pressured by Israeli authorities into falsely stating that staff took part in the Oct. 7 attack, according to a report by the agency dated February.

"What is at stake is the fate of the Palestinians today in Gaza in the short term who are going through an absolutely unprecedented humanitarian crisis," Lazzarini told RTS.

UNRWA runs schools, healthcare clinics and other social services in Gaza, and distributes humanitarian aid. The UN has said some 3,000 members of staff are still working to deliver aid in the enclave, where it says 576,000 people - one quarter of the population - are a step away from famine.

"The agency I currently manage is the only agency that delivers public services to Palestinian refugees," Lazzarini said.

"We are the quasi-ministry of education, of primary health. If we were to get rid of such a body, who would bring back the millions of girls and boys who are traumatized in the Gaza Strip today back to a learning environment?"



New Israeli Strikes on Gaza Draw Global Condemnation 

Palestinians make their way to flee their homes, after the Israel army issued evacuation orders for a number of neighborhoods, following heavy Israeli strikes, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip March 18, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians make their way to flee their homes, after the Israel army issued evacuation orders for a number of neighborhoods, following heavy Israeli strikes, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip March 18, 2025. (Reuters)
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New Israeli Strikes on Gaza Draw Global Condemnation 

Palestinians make their way to flee their homes, after the Israel army issued evacuation orders for a number of neighborhoods, following heavy Israeli strikes, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip March 18, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians make their way to flee their homes, after the Israel army issued evacuation orders for a number of neighborhoods, following heavy Israeli strikes, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip March 18, 2025. (Reuters)

Israel's renewed strikes on Gaza on Tuesday sparked international outcry and demands for it to respect the ceasefire agreement.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday he is "shocked" by the Israeli airstrikes in Gaza and has called for the ceasefire in Gaza to be respected.

Guterres, in a statement, called for humanitarian aid to resume for people in Gaza and for the hostages held by Hamas to be released unconditionally.

Israel launched airstrikes across the Gaza Strip early Tuesday, killing at least 400 Palestinians, including women and children, according to hospital officials. The surprise bombardment shattered a ceasefire in place since January and threatened to fully reignite the 17-month-old war.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the strikes after Hamas refused Israeli demands to change the ceasefire agreement. Officials said the operation was open-ended and was expected to expand. The White House said it had been consulted and voiced support for Israel's actions.

Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry said on Tuesday it denounces "in the strongest terms" Israel resuming strikes on Gaza, and called on the international community to step in to stop what it described as crimes against the Palestinians.

Also, Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani demanded immediate international action to compel Israel to implement an immediate ceasefire, abide by the Gaza ceasefire agreement and return to negotiations.

France called for an immediate halt to the violence, the French Foreign Affairs ministry said in a statement.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan branded Israel as a "terrorist state" feeding on the "blood, lives and tears of innocent" people.

A vocal critic of Israel’s actions in Gaza, he accused Israel of committing "genocide" in Gaza. He pledged to increase diplomatic efforts to stop the violence and ensure a ceasefire.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said Israel's attacks on Gaza amounted to a "new phase in its policy of genocide" against Palestinians and urged the international community to take a determined stance to ensure a ceasefire is upheld and humanitarian aid is delivered. 

In a statement, the ministry added it was unacceptable for Israel to cause a "new cycle of violence" in the region, adding the Israeli government's "hostile approach" threatened the future of the Middle East. 

The Kremlin said it was concerned by what it called a large number of civilian casualties after Israel struck Gaza and hoped that peace would return. 

"Undoubtedly, it's another deterioration in the situation (in Gaza) and another spiral of escalation that is causing our concern," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. 

"Especially concerning of course are the reports of major casualties among the civilian population," he added. 

"We are monitoring the situation very closely and, of course, we are waiting for it to return to a peaceful course." 

The end of the ceasefire in Gaza due to Israeli attacks is cause for grave concern, Germany Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said, calling for talks on the second phase of the ceasefire and further hostage releases to resume immediately.
"The images of burning tents in refugee camps are shocking. I emphasize that international law includes the principle of proportionality, even in self defense," Baerbock said in Berlin.
"I have to appeal here, in particular, to the United States, to its regional influence, to its corresponding potential for influence," she added.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called for the ceasefire to be maintained.

"There’s already been enormous suffering there, which is why we’re calling upon all parties to respect the ceasefire and hostage deal that was put in place," Albanese told reporters.

"We’ll continue to make representations. Australia will continue to stand up for peace and security in the region," he added.

South Africa said it was "gravely concerned" by the deadly wave of airstrikes in Gaza, and raised doubts about Israel's "commitment to a permanent ceasefire as envisaged in the ceasefire plan brokered by the USA, Egypt and Qatar."

South Africa’s post-apartheid government has long been a supporter of the Palestinian cause, and has filed a case at the United Nations’ top court accusing US ally Israel of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

Iran's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that letting Israel resume its deadly strikes and block all aid to Gaza "poses catastrophic consequences for global peace and security."

The United Nations' Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory urged for the ceasefire in Gaza to be immediately reinstated.

"Waves of airstrikes occurred across the Gaza strip since the early hours of the morning ... This is unconscionable. A ceasefire must be reinstated immediately," Muhannad Hadi said in a statement.

The UN human rights chief said he was horrified by Israeli strikes on Gaza. 

"I am horrified by last night's Israeli airstrikes and shelling in Gaza, which killed hundreds, according to the Ministry of Health in the strip. This will add tragedy onto tragedy," said High Commissioner Volker Turk in a statement. 

"Israel's resort to yet more military force will only heap further misery upon a Palestinian population already suffering catastrophic conditions."