GAZA, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- A senior official of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) on Tuesday warned of stopping the agency's services in all aspects of refugee camps, as a result of its continued financial crisis.

Matthias Schmale, UNRWA director of operations in Gaza, told the local radio Voice of Jerusalem that the agency's financial situation is "critical," adding that there are no financial resources available to pay the salaries of the agency's employees in October.

Meanwhile, Schmale said that the agency's programs are focusing now on the coastal enclave, which is suffering from poverty and the novel coronavirus.

"Many Palestinians in Gaza lost their livelihoods due to the spread of the coronavirus, so we are trying to help them in partnership with UN institutions," he said.

The UNRWA provides humanitarian aid and support to around 5.6 million Palestinian refugees in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip.

The agency also runs 144 clinics and 709 schools.