logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2024
22m 57s

Philippe Lazzarini: Is UNRWA's mission i...

Bbc World Service
About this episode

Stephen Sackur speaks to Philippe Lazzarini, head of UNRWA, the UN’s refugee agency for Palestinians. This week, six UN relief agency staff were killed in an Israeli strike on a central Gaza school that had been turned into an emergency shelter for thousands. UNRWA’s death count in Gaza since the beginning of the war is over 220. Is his agency’s mission now impossible?

Up next
Yesterday
Klaus Thymann, scientist: Indonesia’s ‘eternal glaciers’ are vanishing
“I can't pronounce the local language, but if it's kind of translated into English, it becomes ‘the eternal glaciers’. And to have something on a mountain that has that cultural history, and has been so important for local belief, and local culture, to disappear. It's a culture h ... Show More
21m 23s
Oct 30
Brad Smith, Microsoft President: Washing machines are better-regulated than AI
Right now, your washing machine is subject to more safety rules than AI. Every carton of milk that you see in the grocery store is subject to safety rules and inspection. Or think about the aeroplanes we get on - you can get on a plane in London, you can fly to Athens or New York ... Show More
24m 15s
Oct 28
Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor: There’s a vacuum in Israeli media
Rebecca Kesby speaks to Israeli film-makers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor. Abraham and Szor gained international attention last year with their self-distributed film, No Other Land, made in collaboration with two Palestinian film-makers. The film, which won the 2025 Academy Award ... Show More
23 m
Recommended Episodes
May 2024
The Human Cost of War - Philippe Lazzarini - Head of UNRWA
<p>Philippe Lazzarini holds one of the most challenging positions in the whole of the United Nations. As head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), he is leading the backbone of the humanitarian operation in Gaza.</p> <p><b ... Show More
32m 5s
Nov 2023
Exclusive: UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini
With millions trapped inside Gaza, under siege and under fire, the humanitarian situation spirals towards catastrophe. And the UN reports women and children make up the majority of fatalities. Philippe Lazzarini is commissioner general of UNRWA, the United Nations agency providin ... Show More
1 h
Jul 2024
In Gaza, schools and ‘safe zones’ under Israeli attack
Schools run by UNRWA, the UN refugee agency for Palestinian refugees, have been havens for civilians fleeing Israeli bombing in Gaza. But a string of UNRWA-run schools sheltering displaced Palestinians have been bombed and the agency’s headquarters in Gaza City was destroyed. Whe ... Show More
18m 12s
Nov 2023
Humanitarian crisis in Gaza
As Israel says its troops have entered Gaza City, the humanitarian crisis is stark. Bakeries in North Gaza are closed, according to the UN, and hospitals are nearly out of fuel, says the Palestinian Red Crescent. The UN Secretary-General today called for an unconditional release ... Show More
58m 56s
Dec 2023
Intense escalation in Gaza bombardment leaves medical teams facing impossible choices
UN humanitarians carried out an emergency fact-finding mission to central Gaza’s Al-Aqsa Hospital on Christmas Day, in response to fears of mass casualties after reports that three refugee camps were hit by Israeli airstrikes.Doctors at the hospital, which was already at full cap ... Show More
9m 57s