The Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, warned that the occupied West Bank is experiencing its most severe humanitarian crisis since 1967, driven by ongoing Israeli military violations in refugee camps and the forced displacement of tens of thousands of residents.
In a post on his account on the platform X, Lazzarini stated that one year after the launch of the Israeli military offensive known as the “Iron Wall,” an estimated 33,000 Palestinians remain forcibly displaced from refugee camps in the northern West Bank.
He noted that entire neighborhoods in refugee camps such as Jenin, Nur Shams, Tulkarem, and al-Far’a have been emptied as families flee repeated incursions, destruction, and the absence of basic safety.
Lazzarini also said that Israeli forces continue to demolish large sections of the refugee camps, including homes, internal roads, and essential civilian infrastructure.
This, he added, has sharply reduced the prospects for recovery and has pushed already vulnerable communities into deeper poverty.
He emphasized that UNRWA teams remain on the ground despite the dangers, working to support newly displaced families who now face limited or nonexistent access to healthcare, education, and social services.
The agency, he added, is operating under extreme pressure as needs rise and resources shrink.
Lazzarini stressed that UNRWA “continues its work,” but warned that sustaining these operations requires consistent political backing and reliable financial support from member states, especially as the scale of destruction and displacement in the West Bank continues to expand.
Additional UN assessments over the past year indicate a sharp escalation in Israeli violations and forced displacement across the West Bank.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has documented record levels of attacks by illegal Israeli paramilitary colonizers, widespread movement restrictions, and the systematic destruction of civilian infrastructure.
Humanitarian agencies report that several camps have become uninhabitable, with repeated incursions damaging water networks, electricity lines, and UNRWA facilities, including schools and health centers.
OCHA also warns that the combination of military operations, escalating violations by Israeli colonizers, and economic strangulation is creating conditions that could trigger new waves of displacement, further destabilizing an already fragile humanitarian landscape.
