JAKARTA - The Commissioner General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, whose term ends on March 31, on Tuesday called for an investigation into the killing of 390 humanitarian workers during the armed conflict in the Gaza Strip.
"I believe we need to form a commission, a high-level expert panel, to investigate the murder of our staff," he told a news conference in Geneva.
"This issue has been raised by the office of the Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres and in dialogue with UN member states in New York," he added.
Lazzarini also said that the absence of such an investigation to date was due to the fact that the conflict was still ongoing. He also cited Israel's continued attacks in the region despite a ceasefire agreement.
"The institution is close to being closed due to lack of funding and a number of actions taken to weaken it, thus threatening protection of the rights of the Palestinian people," he added.
UNRWA reported that more than 390 humanitarian workers, UN staff, have been killed since the latest conflict in Gaza erupted in October 2023.
In January 2025, an Israeli law banning UNRWA activities will come into force.
Israeli authorities cited alleged evidence involving a number of employees of the agency in the October 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian militants, as well as the use of UNRWA infrastructure in the area for militant activities, as the legal basis.
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