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SvennoJ 8 hours ago
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UNRWA chief says disinformation putting staff’s lives at risk

Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), is condemning the continuing spread of false information against his organisation.

“The spread of disinformation against UNRWA is meant to create chaos and divert attention from the political aims to dismantle the Agency,” he wrote in a post on X. “It is distraction from what really matters: The devastating impact the war in #Gaza & the region is having on civilians & the work that our @UNRWA teams continue to do to save lives.”

The campaign is causing harm to Palestinian refugees and putting the lives of UNRWA staff in Gaza at further risk, he added.

At least 243 of UNRWA’s 13,000 staff have been killed since Israel’s war on Gaza began last October, making the conflict the deadliest for aid workers in recent history. The Israeli government has also passed laws banning UNRWA in Israel-controlled territory, including Gaza and the West Bank.


UN’s Middle East envoy laments ‘no end in sight’ to the horror in Gaza

The UN Security Council has heard a briefing from the Middle East peace envoy Tor Wennesland. The briefing, delivered by his deputy, was Wennesland’s last to the council as his mandate ends in early January.

  • The situation remains grave across the region, and as winter approaches, the horror in Gaza continues to grind on with no end in sight.
  • Israeli forces have intensified operations in north Gaza in recent weeks, with mass casualty events occurring with alarming frequency. These include an attack on Jabalia on November 10 that killed 36 Palestinians and another on Beit Lahiya on November 16 that killed at least 65 others.
  • The delivery of critical aid across Gaza is grinding to a halt and the survival of 2 million people hangs in the balance.
  • Violence continues at alarming levels in the West Bank as the Israeli government presses on with the advancement of settlements.
  • Developments across the occupied Palestinian territory suggest we are at imminent risk of losing the two-state solution framework for the resolution of the Israel-Palestine conflict.
  • If the forces seeking to undermine the two-state solution are successful, the collapse of the relevant principles and institutional structures will have a ripple effect that could spread far beyond the Middle East.
  • We need a ceasefire; we need to get the hostages out, we need life-saving support to be delivered safely now, and we need to ensure the long-term safety and security of Palestinians and Israelis.