According to both texts, released shortly before the end of his term, the Commissioner warns that the agency has been “crushed in violation of international law, with its staff and Palestinian communities paying an unacceptable price.”

“In December 2023, I wrote to the Assembly that in 35 years of working in complex emergencies, I had never had reason to report the deaths of 130 workers and predict the deaths of many more. I did not imagine then that the number of colleagues killed would triple, now exceeding 390,” he stated.

Many others suffered life-altering injuries or were arbitrarily detained and tortured, he added. He also reported that hundreds of UNRWA facilities in Gaza were damaged or destroyed, even after the ceasefire.

They also suffered service cuts, including electricity and water.

The UNRWA headquarters in Sheikh Jarrah was occupied, looted, and set on fire. Senior Israeli officials celebrated the destruction in widely circulated videos, he indicated.

Furthermore, he condemned the ongoing disinformation campaigns against the agency and demanded an end to physical attacks against its personnel. Lazzarini recalled that the International Court of Justice recognized that obstructing private agency deprives Palestinians of essential means of subsistence and threatens their rights.

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