The Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, has expressed his gratitude for selecting the Commission to receive the Doha Forum Award this year, considering it a recognition and honour for its humanitarian and relief efforts.
After receiving the award, during the opening session of the Doha Forum 2023, Lazzarini said he was grateful for the honour, which is an appreciation for UNRWA workers, some of whom died in this war while providing support to the people of the Gaza Strip.
He described the situation in the Gaza Strip as catastrophic and unprecedented, saying that it is a catastrophic situation and that there is no safe place in Gaza where everything is exposed to destruction and bombing.
There is a massive displacement and there are more than a million people living in crowded UN shelters asking for protection that is not available at all, he added stressing that UNRWA will not surrender and will continue its humanitarian efforts.
Lazzarini warned that UNRWA is on the verge of complete humanitarian collapse in the Gaza Strip due to restrictions and shortages of humanitarian supplies to the population.
The current conditions create a feeling that the international community has failed and betrayed the Palestinians, and this will have serious political consequences after the war, he said, adding that the dehumanisation of the people of Gaza has made what is impossible possible in the international community, and this is a dangerous matter.
The UNRWA Commissioner-General criticised the selective sympathy, which he said had become a recurring pattern in all cycles of violence in the region, and called for a speedy halt to the war and respect for international humanitarian law.
