The head of the UN agency helping Palestinian refugees claims that since the war in Gaza began, at least 745 people were killed and more than 2,200 injured in its shelters where they had sought United Nations protection.
Philippe Lazzarini says in a post on X that nearly 650 incidents were recorded against buildings and facilities belonging to the agency, known as UNRWA, and over two-thirds of its buildings and schools have been damaged or destroyed.
Lazzarini says 258 UNRWA staff members have been killed and at least 20 are in Israeli detention centers since the outbreak of the Gaza war sparked by Hamas’s October 7 massacre and mass abduction in southern Israel. Israel says it doesn’t target civilians, while Hamas hides and fights among them.
He says the agency continues to receive reports that Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups have used UNRWA facilities, and it has verified the takeover of its premises by the IDF on several occasions.
Israel has accused UNRWA of being infiltrated by Hamas supporters and it passed legislation on October 28 — which takes effect in 90 days — banning the UN agency from operating in the country.
— with Times of Israel staff
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