UNRWA chief rejects ‘unsubstantiated claims to undermine’ agency

The Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has rejected the comments by the US legal representative to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) as false and unsubstantiated.

In today’s ICJ hearing regarding the legal humanitarian obligations of the Israeli regime (as the occupying entity) towards the people of Palestine, the US legal representative said that there were “serious concerns” about UNRWA’s impartiality.

In response to today’s hearing, Philippe Lazzarini wrote on his X account that “those” who use disinformation as a weapon of war must be held accountable.

“Such claims are threatening the lives & well-being of UNRWA staff across the Gaza Strip & the occupied West Bank,” he continued.

“Dehumanizing & polarizing statements further deepen people’s suffering. They divert attention from the humanitarian crisis & the immense needs of people impacted by over 1.5 years of systematic destruction of life.”

From the beginning of the Gaza war, Israel and the US have launched a major propaganda campaign against the agency and accused its staff members of being “Hamas operatives.”

Several independent investigations conducted by the UN have revealed that these claims are completely false.

These investigations, however, have not stopped Israel from attacking the agency’s staff members and buildings across Gaza or banning its humanitarian activities in the occupied territories.

The Israeli regime’s parliament (Knesset) passed a law in October that banned the agency from activity within the occupied territories.

The Knesset also revoked the 1967 treaty that allowed UNRWA to carry out its mission. The ban has greatly restricted the agency’s ability to operate in Gaza and the occupied territories.

On March 18, the Israeli regime assaulted Gaza and effectively ended its ceasefire agreement with the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas.

The Israeli regime has put Gaza on total blockade and barred the entry of all humanitarian aid, which, according to the UN’s Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), has driven Gaza’s population toward phase 5 famine.

Phase 5 Famine is the highest phase of the IPC Acute Food Insecurity scale, and is classified when an area has the deaths of two people or four children for every 10,000 people each day due to outright starvation or the interaction of malnutrition and disease.

The total death toll from the Israeli assault on Gaza since October 7 has risen to 52,400, with 118,000 injured, most of whom are children and women.