Unrwa staff living a ‘nightmare’ says UN chief

The UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, spoke at the Unwra aid pledging conference at the UN headquarters in New York. Here are the main points he made:

• Just when we thought it couldn’t get any worse in Gaza, somehow, appallingly, Palestinian civilians are being pushed into ever deeper circles of hell
• Palestinians in Gaza keep being forced to move like human pinballs. Nowhere is safe. Everywhere is a potential killing zone
• It is time for the parties to show the political courage and political will to finally reach a ceasefire deal. Nothing justifies the horrific attacks by Hamas on 7 October. And nothing justifies the collective punishment of the Palestinian people
• Palestinians are enduring the deadliest period since Unrwa’s creation
• And we are all painfully aware Unrwa colleagues have not been spared, where 195 staff members have been killed, the highest staff death toll in UN history. Staff have also been subjected to increasingly violent protests and disinformation campaigns
• Yet despite these and other obstacles, in impossible conditions, and in the midst of their own grief, the women and men of Unrwa have bravely continued their work in whatever way they can
• And can you imagine what it must be like to be in this situation? Can you imagine our colleagues wake up day after day in a living nightmare and still deliver for Palestinians in desperate need?
• To those of you who have already pledged support, I thank you. And my appeal to everyone is this: protect Unrwa, protect Unwra staff, and protect Unrwa’s mandates, including through funding.