Crushing UNWRA’s operations carries terrifying risks for Palestinians

JVL Introduction

The outgoing Commissioner General of UNRWA writes passionately to describe the impact of the damage done to the agency that is a lifeline for many in Palestine and beyond and the frustration that the world has allowed this to happen. The attack on the agency has been horrifying, for example:

 “In December 2023, amid the escalating brutality of the war in Gaza, I wrote to the president of the UN general assembly that in my 35 years of working in complex emergencies, I had never had cause to report the killing of 130 personnel, nor to predict the killing of many more. I did not imagine then that the number of colleagues killed would triple – the death toll is now more than 390 – or that so many others would sustain life-changing injuries, or be arbitrarily detained and tortured.”

Then there is the devastating impact on the Palestinian people, whose people in Gaza have endured a genocide, who are not yet able to start rebuilding their lives and their infrastructure. UNRWA has long been the key agency supporting the people.  We saw what happened when UNRWA were not able to operate in Gaza and a US backed “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation” brought in to distribute food; it led to many people being shot while trying to get the promised food.

This is just one example of what things could look like in the future. Despite the devastating attempts to crush the organisation, it is still operating but if UNRWA is not defended and properly funded, the consequences for Palestinians and the wider region would be devastating.

LL

This article was originally published by Guardian on Sat 21 Mar 2026. Read the original here.