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The head of the scandal-hit United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, has admitted the agency is on the verge of imploding, stating bluntly in a recent interview: “We can’t do our job anymore, so we are collapsing.”
Lazzarini is now openly considering shutting down the organisation, which has faced mounting accusations of ties to Hamas, facilitating terrorism, and failure to maintain neutrality. “Either we let UNRWA implode—that is what is happening right now—or we begin a transition,” he told Die Welt.
Recent months have seen a dramatic drop in international support after it emerged that at least 12 UNRWA employees were linked to the October 7th Hamas terror attacks. Lazzarini confirmed that these staff members were either dismissed or suspended after internal UN investigations. In seven additional cases, the agency acknowledged that the evidence could potentially confirm the staff members’ involvement, pending further verification.
Further damaging revelations followed, including reports that Israeli hostages were held in UNRWA-administered shelters in Gaza—claims that the agency did not deny. Lazzarini described them as “disturbing and shocking,” yet offered no defence, prompting critics to accuse UNRWA of complicity.
Israeli officials and watchdog groups have long highlighted the agency’s entanglement with Hamas. Claims persist that Hamas infrastructure, including tunnels and weapons caches, has been found beneath UNRWA schools. Lazzarini acknowledged past discoveries but claimed the agency lacked the capacity to prevent them.
Despite this, the European Commission this week handed UNRWA another €52 million in funding. The EU also sent €150 million to the Palestinian Authority—whose president, Mahmoud Abbas, has previously downplayed the Holocaust and praised Hamas members involved in terrorism.
The Israeli parliament has banned UNRWA from operating in its territory, including Gaza. Jerusalem argues that the agency is not a neutral humanitarian actor but a political body that prolongs conflict and incites hostility toward Israel.
While Lazzarini blames Israeli policy for UNRWA’s deteriorating situation, in reality the agency’s downfall is self-inflicted—built on years of mismanagement, anti-Israel indoctrination, and an unwillingness to sever its ties to Hamas.
