Israel's campaign against Unrwa could set precedent to dismantle other UN agencies, chief warns

Israel's campaign against Unrwa could set precedent to dismantle other UN agencies, chief warns Submitted by David Hearst on Fri, 04/03/2026 - 13:45 Philippe Lazzarini says failure to protect the UN’s main lifeline for Palestinians may have far-reaching consequences " class="video-embed-field-lazy container-element"> Off If UN member states allow Israel to dismantle the only agency that provides education and health services to Palestinians, all other UN agencies could face the same fate, the outgoing commissioner general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (Unrwa) has told Middle East Eye. In his final interview in the role, Philippe Lazzarini accused the international community of paying lip service to what he described as Israel's attempts to dismantle Unrwa, an objective he said had become a declared war aim. "The agency has come under massive, massive attack," he told the David Hearst Podcast.