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Published on: 02/18/2026 - 3:46 p.m. Modified on: 02/18/2026 - 3:46 p.m.
In an interview with France 24, UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini affirms that the ceasefire in Gaza resembles "more and more like a ceasefire in name only." According to him, the UN agency remains operational there with nearly 12,000 employees and 18,000 daily medical consultations.
Speaking to France 24 on the sidelines of the Munich security conference, Philippe Lazzarini said that the ceasefire in Gaza "looks more and more like a ceasefire in name only."
Entering into force on October 10, 2025, this ceasefire between Hamas and Israel is regularly violated, and Hamas, although weakened, has not disarmed. Several hundred Palestinians have been killed since. “A hundred thousand people are in a worrying nutritional situation,” adds Philippe Lazzarini.
Our guest is persona non grata in Israel, which has cut all ties with UNRWA, and recently destroyed its headquarters in Jerusalem – accusing the agency of complicity with Hamas. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees also finds itself in a precarious financial situation, particularly since the end of American contributions.
Despite these challenges, he affirms that UNRWA remains operational in Gaza with "almost 12,000 employees", ensuring "around 18,000 primary health consultations" daily, as well as access to drinking water and an education system for several tens of thousands of children.
The return to "normal schooling will take a long time", warns Philippe Lazzarini, reporting "hundreds of thousands of children" in the ruins of Gaza, "deeply traumatized". “We are taking the risk of losing a generation,” adds the head of UNRWA.
In the West Bank, a “de facto annexation”?
The other Palestinian territory, the West Bank, is experiencing a situation of "silent war" which has remained "in the shadow of international attention", he continues. Recent Israeli measures on Palestinian lands and areas constitute, according to him, developments which "are moving closer and closer to a situation of de facto annexation."
Eighty-five United Nations member states condemned in a joint statement Tuesday Israel's adoption of new measures aimed at "expanding (its) illegal presence" in the occupied West Bank.
Read alsoUN: 85 States condemn Israel's desire to "expand its presence" in the occupied West Bank
Text by Sophian Aubin
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