Guterres warns UNRWA's work and mandate are in jeopardy

24 September 2026

UN Secretary-General António Guterres told the annual ministerial meeting on the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA), held during High-Level Week in New York on Thursday, 24 September 2026, that the agency's work and its entire mandate from the General Assembly are in "jeopardy". He said nearly 400 members of UNRWA's workforce in Gaza have been killed and that the agency faces a cash shortfall of $100 million. Israeli Knesset legislation passed nearly two years ago bans the agency from operating on Israeli territory, including East Jerusalem. Commissioner-General ad interim Christian Saunders said more than 10,000 UNRWA personnel in Gaza are still assisting 1.7 million people, including some 70,000 medical consultations a week. He said displacement in the West Bank is at levels unseen since 1967, and that 41 of the 50 recommendations of the independent neutrality review have been fully implemented.