The head of the UN’s refugee agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) has accused Israel of spreading “misinformation and disinformation” against the organisation.

Quoting an article from Wired magazine, he wrote on X that the government of Israel has been buying advertisements on Google as part of its campaign to undermine and discredit the UNRWA.

The campaign also aims to block users from giving donations to the agency, Philippe Lazzarini said, and added: “This does not just hurt the agency’s reputation but most importantly it puts the lives of our staff at risk.”

He stressed that Israel’s deliberate efforts to spread misinformation should stop and be investigated.

“Companies including social media platforms continue to make profit through spreading misinformation,” Lazzarini said.

“More regulations are needed to combat disinformation and hate speech,” the UNRWA chief concluded.