Philippe Lazzarini
Philippe Lazzarini is Commissioner General for UNRWA.
Recent articles by Philippe Lazzarini

14 May 2024
“Burn down the United Nations” chant Israeli mob in UNRWA HQ attack
This evening, Israeli residents set fire twice to the perimeter of the UNRWA Headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem.

22 April 2024
UNRWA is facing a campaign to push it out of the occupied Palestinian territory
This is a time of seismic change in the Middle East. At the heart of this region, the United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees – UNRWA – is a stabilising force. Today, an insidious campaign to end UNRWA’s operations is underway, with serious implications for international peace and security, says Philippe Lazzarini.

6 March 2024
UNRWA is at a breaking point
It is impossible to adequately describe the suffering in Gaza. The death toll in Gaza is staggering. More than 30,000 Palestinians have reportedly been killed in just 150 days. 5% of the population is dead, injured or missing. Doctors are amputating the limbs of injured children without anaesthetic. Hunger is everywhere. A man-made famine is looming. It is a stain on our collective conscience that for 75 years UNRWA has had to fill a vacuum left by the lack of a political solution and a genuine peace. And yet UNRWA is now facing a deliberate and concerted campaign to undermine...

19 January 2024
The Gaza Strip: A struggle for daily survival amid death, exhaustion and despair
Every time I visit Gaza, I witness how people have sunk further into despair, with the struggle for survival consuming every hour.