Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), warned on Wednesday that an entire generation of Palestinians in Gaza would be “denied the right to education” if the agency collapses in the Strip under new Israeli legislation.

The Knesset last month passed legislation banning UNRWA from operating in Israel once it comes into force in late January. Lazzarini said implementing the law “would have catastrophic repercussions.”

“In Gaza, the dismantling of UNRWA will lead to the collapse of the UN humanitarian response, which relies heavily on the agency’s infrastructure,” he told a UN General Assembly committee. “What is clearly absent from the discussions on Gaza without UNRWA is education.”

“In the absence of a government administration or a capable state, only UNRWA can provide education to more than 660,000 girls and boys across Gaza. In the absence of UNRWA, an entire generation will be deprived of the right to education,” he said, warning that this would sow “the seeds of marginalization and extremism.”

Lazzarini also called on UN member states to act to prevent the implementation of Israeli legislation.