LONDON, October 11. /TASS/. The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) "has never, ever been as much under assault and attack," the agency’s Commissioner-General, Philippe Lazzarini, said.

"A year ago, it was primarily a financial existential threat, but today it's a combination of a political and financial threat. 2025 will be, again, a difficult year," he told Reuters, adding that at the beginning of the next year there will be more clarity about whether the United States would resume financing.

Earlier in October, the Knesset foreign affairs and security commission approved the bill banning UNRWA in the country. The bill bans Israeli officials from meeting with UNRWA employees, issuing visas to them or granting economic privileges. Apart from that, Israel’s authorities plan to initiate criminal cases against UNRWA employees suspected of being involved in terrorist activities.

Earlier, Lazzarini instructed to fire several UNRWA employees who were suspected of being involved in the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023, when many Israeli kibbutz residents living near the Gaza border were killed and more than 250 Israelis were abducted.