The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) is bracing for a triple crisis as Israeli strikes on Lebanon add to the strain it is facing in Gaza and the West Bank, its chief tells AFP.

With three of its areas of operations turning into “active frontlines”, the embattled agency already grappling with a severe financial shortfall is poised to come under even more pressure, said UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini.

“We already have Gaza, we already have the West Bank, so we have two fields of operation which have become active frontlines,” he said.

“We (now) also have Lebanon, which would mean that basically three […] contexts of operation will become humanitarian emergencies,” he added, calling the situation a “triple tragedy”.

Faced with mounting Israeli strikes, UNRWA has paused some operations in Lebanon as it converts its schools into shelters for hundreds of people displaced from the south of the country.

“The fear is that… we are going into a full-fledged war,” Lazzarini told AFP as world leaders gathered at the United Nations for its annual diplomatic event. “Another concern is that parts of Lebanon becomes like Gaza.”