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UNRWA Acting Commissioner-General Christian Saunders assessed the agency's activities in Gaza, the West Bank and the region during a ministerial meeting held on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Saunders said the ceasefire in Gaza had provided some relief, but millions of people continued to live in conditions of severe insecurity. Noting that winter was approaching, Saunders said significant gaps remained in humanitarian operations due to inadequate funding and restrictions on the entry of critical supplies.

Saunders said 94 percent of people in Gaza lacked adequate shelter, 90 percent frequently experienced disruptions in access to clean water and 98 percent of households lived near environmental hazards such as sewage, rubble and rodents. He said these conditions had serious consequences for children and families.

Saunders said more than 10,000 UNRWA staff were working in Gaza and that services and assistance were being delivered to 1.7 million people. He said UNRWA managed more than 80 emergency shelters, supported hundreds of thousands of children in returning to education and carried out about 70,000 medical consultations per week, while providing clean water, sanitation and hygiene services to more than one million people.

Saunders said the situation in the West Bank was also becoming increasingly unsustainable, noting that the displacement of Palestinians had reached levels not seen since 1967 and that settler violence was continuing. He said that, as part of measures to restrict UNRWA's activities in East Jerusalem, the agency's headquarters, vocational training center, schools and health infrastructure had been seized.

Saunders also said UNRWA played an important stabilizing role in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. He said the agency was facing a $100 million cash flow deficit for 2026 and that essential services could not be sustained without additional support.

Saunders said UNRWA was continuing savings and cost-control measures to use resources more efficiently. He said service delivery hours had been reduced by 20 percent and that, as a result, the salaries of most local staff had been cut.

Saunders also said 41 of the 50 recommendations in the independent review of UNRWA's neutrality, or more than 80 percent, had been fully implemented, while most of the remaining recommendations were in the process of being implemented.

Calling for UNRWA to be allowed to operate in the Occupied Palestinian Territory in accordance with its mandate and to receive the necessary political and financial support, Saunders said the agency was moving toward lower-cost, more efficient and data-driven service delivery.

Saunders said UNRWA becoming a smaller organization did not mean a change to the agency's mandate or to United Nations General Assembly Resolution 302 (IV), adding that its role in supporting the rights of Palestine refugees continued.