UNRWA fears that “Lebanon will become like Gaza”
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) is facing a “triple tragedy” with the Israeli attacks in Lebanon, lamented its general commissioner, Philippe Lazzarini, in an interview with AFP on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
“We already have Gaza, we already have the West Bank, so we have two theaters of operations that have become active fronts”said Lazzarini, whose agency, created by the UN General Assembly in 1949, runs health centres and schools in Gaza, the occupied West Bank, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan.
NOW, “We also have Lebanon”which makes three areas of operations face each other “humanitarian emergencies”He added, explaining that the chronically underfunded agency is under pressure. With the recent bombings in Lebanon, UNRWA has been forced to suspend some of its operations in the country and to convert some of its schools into shelters for displaced people fleeing the country’s southern regions.
Like other world leaders, Philippe Lazzarini fears “a full-blown war” and so? “Lebanon is becoming like Gaza”.
Since the unprecedented attacks by Palestinian Hamas against Israel on 7 October 2023, UNRWA has been a regular target of criticism from Israel, which has accused it of using hundreds of “terrorists” in Gaza. In the besieged territory, where the UN considers the agency “the backbone” humanitarian operations, at least 222 of its employees were killed and two-thirds of its facilities were damaged or destroyed.
“Depending on how the war develops in Lebanon, where we have thousands of employees (…)These employees could also die »worried Philippe Lazzarini. And a new front in Lebanon “increase the pressure on us”. “Needs will increase and we will need more support from donors.”
Some of the largest donors suspended their contributions earlier this year after Israel accused around 20 of the agency’s 13,000 employees in Gaza of involvement in the October 7 attacks. Most donors have since resumed their support, with the notable exception of the largest donor, the United States.
