UNRWA 'very near' possible breaking point in Gaza operation, head says

BERLIN (Reuters) - The U.N. Palestinian refugee agency is close to a possible breaking point for its operations in the Gaza Strip due to increasingly complicated conditions, its head said on Wednesday.

"I will not hide the fact that we might reach a point that we won't be able anymore to operate," UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini told journalists at a news conference in Berlin.

"We are very near to a possible breaking point. When will it be? I don't know. But we are very near of that," he said.

He said the agency was facing a combination of a financial and political threats to its existence, in addition to difficulties in day-to-day operations, as aid is even more desperately needed against the threat of disease and famine.

He said there was a real risk, heading into winter, with people's immune systems weakened, that famine or acute malnutrition could become a likelihood.

UNRWA provides education, health and aid to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

It has long had tense relations with Israel but ties have deteriorated sharply since the start of the war in Gaza.

Israel launched the offensive against Hamas after the Palestinian militant group led attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, in which 1,200 people were killed and around 250 taken hostage to Gaza, by Israeli tallies. More than 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in the offensive, according to Gaza's health authorities.

Israeli leaders in January accused UNRWA staff of collaborating with Hamas militants in Gaza, leading some donors to suspend funding, although many of those decisions have since been reversed. The U.N. launched an investigation into Israel's accusations and dismissed nine staff.

(Reporting by Miranda Murray; Editing by Matthias Williams and Alison Williams)