Unrwa chief seeks probe into killing of hundreds of personnel in Gaza war

The outgoing head of the United Nations agency supporting Palestinian refugees said on Tuesday he wanted an investigation into the killing of over 390 Unrwa staff during the war in Gaza. 

“I believe that we need to have a panel... a high-level panel of experts to look into the killing of our staff,” Philippe Lazzarini told reporters in Geneva.

Speaking at a press conference on his last day on the job as Unrwa commissioner-general, the 62-year-old Swiss national condemned the fact that “more than 390” of the agency's staff had been killed since the start of Israel's war on Gaza in October 2023.

“Many others have sustained life-changing injuries or have been arbitrarily detained and tortured,” he said. He added that an investigation was needed, not just into the killing of Unrwa employees but also of other UN staff, stressing: “There have been other UN colleagues who have been also killed.”