The commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, said on Sunday that “the focus should be on reaching an agreement to end the conflict in the Gaza Strip, rather than focusing on banning the agency or finding alternatives to it.”

Lazzarini added, in a statement posted on his X account, that “dismantling UNRWA – in the absence of a viable alternative – will deprive Palestinian children of learning.” “Why aren’t children mentioned and educated in any discussions when experts or politicians talk about banning or replacing UNRWA?” he asked.

“Without education, children slip into despair, poverty and extremism, falling prey to exploitation including joining armed groups, and thus the region remains unstable and volatile,” the UN official warned.

“Gaza’s children are now losing a second year of education,” he stressed. “UNRWA is the only UN agency that provides education directly in its schools. In the West Bank, nearly 50,000 children are receiving education in these schools.”

As of October 2023, UNRWA has provided education to more than 300,000 boys and girls in Gaza, accounting for about half of all schoolchildren in Gaza, according to the same source.