The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said on Friday that its employees who were detained by Israeli forces were subjected to "ill-treatment and torture."

This came in a press conference held by the Agency’s Commissioner-General, Philippe Lazzarini, during a pledging conference at the United Nations headquarters in New York, with the aim of increasing contributions to the United Nations agency.

Lazzarini added, "The agency is reeling under the weight of the ongoing attack in Gaza."

He explained that "UNRWA employees, who were detained by Israeli forces, reported being subjected to ill-treatment and torture."

Lazzarini noted that "195 UNRWA workers were killed in Israeli attacks."

About 190 facilities were also damaged or destroyed, killing more than 500 people seeking UN protection, according to the same source.

Lazzarini said, "UNRWA is appealing for $1.2 billion for the emergency in the occupied Palestinian territories to cover critical humanitarian needs until the end of the year."

He added, "This appeal, and the emergency appeal for Syria, Lebanon and Jordan, received less than 20 percent funding."

During the same conference, Riyad Mansour, Palestine’s envoy to the United Nations, said that “the past nine months have been long, painful and horrific.”

Mansour added, "There is no safe place for Palestinians to take refuge in the Gaza Strip, as indicated by (United Nations) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, not even under the UN flag."

He continued: "As the Israeli occupation forces continue to target and bomb schools in one attack after another, which increases the human losses, destruction and trauma inflicted on our people, including 40,000 Palestinian children."

In turn, Guterres appealed to everyone to protect UNRWA and its employees, saying that “there is no alternative to it.”

He added: "Without the necessary support and funding for UNRWA, Palestine refugees will lose a crucial lifeline and their last glimmer of hope for a better future."

Guterres continued: "The time has come to put an end to this terrible war, starting with an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages."

He stressed that in the end, only a political solution can put an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by implementing the principle of the "two-state solution."

Guterres added: "Nothing justifies the collective punishment of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip."

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza with American support, leaving more than 126,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing amid massive destruction and famine that claimed the lives of dozens of children.

Tel Aviv continues the war, ignoring the UN Security Council resolutions to stop it immediately, and the orders of the International Court of Justice to take measures to prevent acts of genocide and improve the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza.

Source: Anatolia