NEW YORK, October 3, 2024 (WAFA) – Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), stated today that the current shape of the international humanitarian response is extending the duration of the Israeli occupation, which has been deemed illegal by the International Court of Justice.

In an article published on the UN News website, Lazzarini highlighted the grave risk of the international community becoming "complicit in international crimes" one year into the Israeli war on Gaza.

He noted that the ongoing conflict reveals a troubling lack of mutual empathy and that the very rule of law capable of halting the "slide into barbarism" is itself losing its value.

Lazzarini warned that without adherence to international law, the world may follow the same fate as Gaza.

He remarked, "In the occupied Palestinian territories, the operational space is rapidly shrinking, not only for UNRWA but for anyone—individuals, organizations, or states—advocating for adherence to international humanitarian law or supporting a peaceful political solution to this decades-long conflict."

M.N