Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), held a press conference at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland on Monday, September 30, 2024. He addressed the recent killing of a top Hamas commander in Lebanon, who was also an employee of UNRWA. The agency had suspended the employee in March after allegations of his ties to the militant group surfaced.
The death of Fatah Sharif has put UNRWA under further scrutiny and added to the pressure it is already facing due to an $80 million funding shortfall this year. Critics have accused the agency of not doing enough to remove Hamas militants from its ranks. In January, Israel had accused 12 UNRWA staffers of being involved in an attack on Israel on October 7, which resulted in the death of 1,200 people and the abduction of 250 others. This led to several donor countries suspending their funding, causing a cash crunch of $450 million. However, all donor countries except the United States have now resumed funding for the agency.
The United Nations’ internal watchdog is currently investigating UNRWA in light of these allegations. The agency is working towards addressing the concerns raised and ensuring that its operations are not compromised by any ties to militant groups.