Israeli ‘disinformation’ campaign seeks to erase Gaza atrocities: UNRWA
Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), says Gaza has been “the battleground of a fierce and rampant information war”.
“Disinformation continues to be used as a tool to distract from the atrocities in the war-torn enclave,” he said, adding that UNRWA was the first target followed by other UN agencies, the media, and health facilities.
Lazzarini said the recent denial of famine in Gaza, as well as the dismissal of genocide findings by a UN commission of inquiry released this week, are examples of efforts to undermine expert assessments and “promote narratives denying atrocities and dehumanising Palestinians”.
He called for international journalists to be allowed into Gaza to support their Palestinian colleagues, whose reporting he described as “heroic”, adding their voices risk being “silenced” as Israeli attacks expand.
#Gaza has been the battleground of a fierce & rampant information war.
Dis-information continues to be used as a tool to distract from the atrocities in the war-torn enclave.
The first target was @UNRWA followed by other UN agencies, the media & health institutions.
The…
— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) September 18, 2025
Northern Gaza emptying as tents vanish, displacement surges
The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics says about 740,000 people – roughly 35 percent of Gaza’s 2.1 million population – remained in the north of the enclave as of Tuesday.
In a statement, the bureau warned the figure could drop further because of continued Israeli attacks and forced displacement. It said northern Gaza – once a major population centre – has turned into a “hub of renewed displacement” with basic services largely absent and security conditions worsening.
Satellite images taken from September 4 to Monday showed thousands of tents that had been set up on empty land along the coast and among Gaza City’s rubble have now disappeared or have significantly declined in number, including large camps in the Sheikh Radwan and Remal neighbourhoods and Shati refugee camp.
Despite some families trying to return home in the past several months, the bureau said ongoing Israeli assaults and the new ground invasion are driving residents to flee again, leaving the population “highly unstable and constantly shifting”.
