UN agency blames Israel for blocking vital aid to Gaza
The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has accused Israel of deliberately crippling its operations and blocking the entry of vital aid to Gaza amid its more than two-year genocidal war, as Palestinians face the onset of heavy rains and winter with sparse shelter or relief.
“Safeguarding UNRWA’s mandate and operations is required under international law; it is vital to the survival of millions of Palestinians; and it is essential for a political solution,” UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini told the UN General Assembly Fourth Committee on Thursday, November 13, 2025, citing recent findings by the UN Commission of Inquiry and rulings by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) obligating Israel to lift restrictions on the agency.
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Lazzarini also told a news conference at the UN headquarters in New York that severe funding shortfalls were threatening UNRWA’s essential services, urging donor nations for more money, so that it could continue its operations in Gaza despite funding cuts by the United States.
“We run week by week, month by month. I know that as of today, we will be able to process our salaries in November, but have no idea if or no visibility if we will be able to process our salaries in December,” said Lazzarini.
Israel has barred UNRWA from operating on its soil after baselessly accusing some of its employees of participating in the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, which triggered the war.
Israel has repeatedly accused UNRWA employees of involvement in the October 7 attack without providing proof.
Following those allegations, the US – historically the agency’s biggest donor – suspended its support.
In the wake of Israel’s decision, UNRWA was forced to repatriate its international staff from Gaza and the occupied West Bank, limiting its food aid distribution abilities.
But it still employs 12,000 people in the Palestinian territory, and its services are vital to Palestinians, Lazzarini insisted.
“About 75,000 people were sheltered in 100 of our premises across the Gaza Strip,” he said.
“We have, over the last two years, provided more than 15 million primary health consultations. Today, the average is about 14,000 a day,” he added, also noting the agency’s joint vaccination campaign with UNICEF and the World Health Organization. UNRWA also provides education for tens of thousands of children.
“In the absence of a significant influx of new funding, the delivery of critical services to millions of Palestinian refugees across the region will be compromised,” Lazzarini added.
While US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said UNRWA will have no role in post-war Gaza, in sync with Israeli demands, Lazzarini noted that since the US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took hold, “we have expanded our services”.
