Chief of relief agency UNRWA pushes back against Israeli accusations

UNITED NATIONS — The head of the embattled U.N. agency that assists Palestinian refugees said Wednesday that as famine is taking hold across Gaza, the agency is facing an Israeli campaign to push it out of the occupied Palestinian territories and prevent it from carrying out its humanitarian mission. "In Gaza, the government of Israel seeks to end UNRWA's activities," Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini told the U.N. Security Council. "The agency's requests to deliver aid to the north are repeatedly denied.