Overview
- Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said UNRWA is operating week to week and has no visibility on paying staff in December after covering November salaries.
- The agency projects roughly a $200 million shortfall through early 2026 and warns core health, education and relief services will be compromised without rapid new funding.
- UNRWA alleges Israel is deliberately obstructing its operations and cites UN Commission of Inquiry findings and an ICJ advisory opinion that say Israel must lift restrictions and cooperate with the agency.
- Aid flows remain far below the ceasefire target of about 600 trucks a day, with roughly 150 entering Gaza as winter bites and stockpiles for up to 6,000 trucks sit in Jordan and Egypt, according to senior UNRWA officials.
- Despite U.S. funding still suspended and Israel’s ban on its operations there, UNRWA reports employing about 12,000 local staff, sheltering roughly 75,000 people, and delivering over 15 million primary health consultations in two years.