Message from UNRWA Commissioner-General to the staff in Gaza

28 October 2023

Dear colleagues in Gaza,  

I sincerely hope this message reaches you, and that you will soon respond to tell me you are all safe.

The whole UNRWA family, including myself, is deeply worried about you, as most channels of communication have been cut across Gaza since last night. I was only able to contact a few colleagues who are at the UNRWA base in Rafah via satellite phone communication. I remain, however, without contact with the vast majority of my team across the Gaza Strip, and this makes me immensely worried for colleagues and their families.

I am constantly hoping that this hell on earth will soon come to an end and that you and your families are safe. I keep hoping that I will soon see you and listen to you as you tell me about the pain you have all gone through. I try to brush away the thought that we have already lost 53 colleagues, and that many of you have lost relatives and loved ones. May they all rest in peace.

The communications blackout is yet another action taken to try to impede the humanitarian response to the civilians of the Gaza Strip. But I can assure you that this action will not discourage us. Our determination remains unshaken. We will continue to fulfil our humanitarian duty, even in the face of these unprecedented challenges.

Meanwhile, the world is uniting around the need to put an end to this catastrophe. Yesterday, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution, with overwhelming support, which calls for an immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce, among other provisions to aid the people of the Gaza Strip. My team and I will continue our non-stop engagements with all the key actors to ensure that this quasi-universal position translates into tangible progress on the ground.

I am determined to enter the Gaza Strip and join you as soon as possible, and my team is engaging in around-the-clock negotiations to facilitate this.

UNRWA remains at the forefront of protecting and aiding civilians across the Gaza Strip.

I meant what I told the world with pride during the press conference yesterday: you are the face of humanity during one of its darkest hours.

With respect and in solidarity.

Sincerely,

Phillipe Lazzarini