UNRWA closes East Jerusalem complex after attacks

(Patria) - The head of the UN's largest humanitarian agency in Gaza says it is temporarily closing its headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem after numerous attacks, the BBC reported.

Philippe Lazzarini said that "residents of Israel" set fire to the perimeter of the complex twice on Thursday evening. There were no casualties, but the fire "caused significant damage to the open area," he wrote on social media.

"Once again, the lives of UN staff were in serious danger. Our director, with the help of other staff, had to put out the fire himself because it took some time for Israeli firefighters and police to show up," he added.

Lazzarini posted a video, which he said showed "a crowd accompanied by armed individuals" shouting "burn the United Nations." He said this was the second time this week the complex had been attacked and that it would not reopen until "appropriate security is established."

Also this week, UNRWA said it had reported ten incidents involving shooting at convoys and mistreatment and harassment of UN staff over a two-week period.

Israel has been highly critical of UNRWA, accusing some of its staff members of involvement in the Hamas attacks on October 7. The allegations led several international donors to temporarily suspend their funding, although some have now resumed aid payments.

An independent UN review later ruled that Israel had yet to provide "evidence" for this claim. It also found that UNRWA needed to do more to improve its neutrality, staff vetting, and transparency.