UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini renewed urgent calls on March 31, 2026, for a high-level United Nations investigation into the deaths of more than 390 UNRWA employees during the two-year Gaza war. The toll represents the deadliest conflict in the agency's 80-year history, surpassing all previous casualties combined. Discussions are currently underway with the UN Secretary-General's office and member states to establish a panel of experts, though no timeline has been confirmed.
The scale of casualties reflects a broader pattern of attacks on humanitarian infrastructure in Gaza. Hundreds of UNRWA premises have been damaged or destroyed since October 2023, with operations continuing to deteriorate even after the most recent ceasefire. Lazzarini's statement to member states emphasized the urgency of establishing accountability mechanisms before evidence degrades further: "The more time goes, the more difficult the task for the commission will be in the future."
Escalating casualties and operational collapse
The death toll has climbed steadily throughout the conflict. By December 31, 2024, 258 UNRWA staff had been killed. That number reached over 280 by March 2025, and now exceeds 390 as of late March 2026. The agency recorded 310 UNRWA personnel and 81 supporting personnel killed by March 25, 2026, making the total aid worker death toll in Gaza at least 408 according to humanitarian organizations tracking casualties.
Beyond the human cost, UNRWA faces institutional destruction. Israeli authorities have reportedly pressured UN entities to cease cooperation with the agency, threatening denial of access to Gaza. The UNRWA headquarters in Sheikh Jarrah was seized, looted, and set on fire, with Israeli officials reportedly celebrating the destruction. At least 20 UNRWA staff remain in Israeli detention centers, with released personnel describing "systematic mistreatment, humiliation and torture" according to Lazzarini's March 17 letter to the UN General Assembly President.
The agency chief warned that UNRWA "may soon no longer be viable" due to unprecedented attacks, disinformation campaigns, and funding cuts. A deputy mayor of Jerusalem called for UNRWA personnel to be "annihilated," reflecting the depth of political opposition to the organization's continued operations.
Investigation challenges and accountability gaps
The call for investigation confronts substantial obstacles. International humanitarian law provides explicit protections for aid workers, yet enforcement mechanisms remain weak when state actors are implicated in attacks on UN personnel. The pattern mirrors recent concerns over attacks on UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, where attribution difficulties have shielded parties from accountability.
Lazzarini has faced "relentless disinformation campaigns" including allegations of neutrality breaches and claims that UNRWA operations have been replaced. The commissioner-general refutes these as "unsubstantiated and malicious claims" designed to undermine Palestinian rights. An independent review in early 2026 found no evidence of UNRWA ties to Hamas following allegations that some staff participated in October 7, 2023 attacks, leading most paused funding to resume. However, the political pressure on the agency has intensified rather than abated.
Members are reading: Why UNRWA's institutional collapse would create permanent protection gaps for Palestinian refugees across five territories.
International response and accountability mechanisms
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has repeatedly condemned attacks on UNRWA staff and called for independent investigations, most recently after the September 2024 Israeli strike on a Nuseirat school shelter that killed six UNRWA personnel. The proposed high-level panel would examine patterns across two years of casualties, though its terms of reference and investigative powers remain undefined.
The investigation faces the accountability challenge inherent to conflicts involving permanent Security Council members or their close allies. International humanitarian law's protections for aid workers exist on paper, but enforcement requires political will that dissipates when powerful states or their strategic partners face scrutiny. The gap between formal legal findings and meaningful consequences has become evident in multiple recent conflicts where UN bodies documented violations yet lacked mechanisms to compel compliance or sanction violators.
Lazzarini's warning that "impunity cannot become the new norm" acknowledges this structural weakness. The proposed investigation may establish a factual record and formal attribution of responsibility, but whether it produces accountability will depend on political decisions by member states that have thus far avoided intervening to halt the pattern of attacks on UNRWA personnel and infrastructure throughout the Gaza conflict.
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