Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) Philippe Lazzarini said that after almost a year, the war on Gaza has become an ‘endless nightmare,’ adding that the Strip has become unlivable.Lazzarini affirmed at a press conference in Geneva that the people of Gaza are facing disease, death, and hunger, with mountains of garbage and sewage filling the streets, and are now trapped in 10 percent of the land after being in a state of constant movement in search of safety that they never found.The UNRWA Commissioner-General highlighted the plight of children, who represent half of Gaza's population, as they bear the brunt of the war, going through a profound, ongoing, painful experience, and losing hope for a better future.Lazzarini explained that a silent tragedy is unfolding in the West Bank, where security operations have led to widespread destruction of public infrastructure, de facto imposing collective punishment on the population.The Commissioner-General also raised during his meetings with Member States in New York and Geneva the continuing attack on the Agency, noting that 223 UNRWA staff members have been killed so far and two-thirds of its facilities in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed.He said that only UNRWA can provide education on a large scale to hundreds of thousands of girls and boys in the Gaza Strip, pointing out that UNRWA still suffers from a huge funding deficit.
