UNRWA head says he is on 'right side of history' despite evidence of organization's close Hamas ties

The head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA(, Philipe Lazzarini, claimed in a recent interview he is confident that he is “on the right side of history” despite the agency’s well-documented ties to the terrorist organization Hamas and its Oct. 7, 2023, massacre and kidnapping of mainly Israeli civilians including women, children and the elderly.

However, Lazzarini admitted it has been a “stressful” period leading the UN agency in recent months amid a shortage of funds and international criticism. 

"Of course it is stressful. No one could really be prepared for something like this," Lazzarini admitted during an interview in Geneva, Switzerland. 

"October 7 basically ... destroyed the last protection dikes that UNRWA might have had," he said, lamenting the “arsenal” of efforts that seeks "to try to discredit the agency, attack the agency, get rid of the agency."

Last September, the Swiss Parliament voted to end funding for UNRWA, citing concerns over its role in fostering tensions and its impact on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Following his return to the White House in January, U.S. President Donald Trump reversed the Biden administration’s policy by backing Israel’s UNRWA ban. This was a severe blow for UNRWA as the United States is the organization’s largest donor. 

U.S. Deputy Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Camille Shea expressed her support for Israel by criticizing UNRWA’s close ties with Hamas. 

“We are concerned about reports that returned Israeli hostages were held by Hamas in UN facilities during their prolonged captivity in Gaza. It is vital for a full and independent investigation to assess these very serious allegations,” Shea said. 

“Unfortunately, this follows a pattern of serious allegations on the misuse of UN facilities – particularly UNRWA facilities – by Hamas terrorists,” she added. 

Last February, former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant provided a list with names of at least 12 UNRWA workers who took part in the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack. The defense minister also had the names of 30 additional UNRWA employees who were indirectly involved in the attack.

Israeli intelligence has assessed that at least 12% of UNRWA’s 13,000 workers in Gaza are affiliated with Hamas and other terror groups. 

In October, the Israeli parliament voted to ban UNRWA from operating in Israel, Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip due to its strong ties to terrorism and anti-Jewish incitement. The Israeli ban on UNRWA took effect on Jan. 30 but has reportedly not yet been fully enforced. 

Israel and the United States have actively called for replacing UNRWA with an alternative organization to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza.

However, Lazzarini has warned of "the real risk of the agency collapsing and imploding."

While UNRWA is reportedly running out of funds, he argued that the funds will only last until June. He is also very critical of Israel’s decision to ban UNRWA. 

"This decision threatens the life and survival of civilians in Gaza," Lazzarini claimed, arguing that without UNRWA, "we would definitely sacrifice a generation of kids, who would be deprived of proper education.”

"If you deprive 100,000 girls and boys in Gaza [of an] education, and if they have no future, and if their school is just despair and living in the rubble, I would say we are just sowing the seeds for more extremism," he added. However, education experts have warned that UNRWA perpetuates rather than combats extremism and violence. 

In January 2024, A UN Watch report revealed that UNRWA teachers celebrated the Oct. 7 massacre and called for the murder of Israeli Jews.