World Bulletin / News Desk

The director of UNRWA's operations in the Gaza Strip, Robert Turner, said Wednesday that he had submitted his resignation and plans to leave his current post in the blockaded Palestinian territory sometime in July.

Turner first assumed the position in May of 2012.

In a statement, he described his three years in the Gaza Strip as the "greatest in his professional life", going on to cite a number of challenges and achievements.

Turner promised to continue working to help the Gaza Strip – which continues to groan under an eight-year Israeli blockade – and its large refugee population.

Over the years, he said, Gaza had proven its resilience.

Two wars were launched against Gaza by Israel – in 2012 and 2014 – during Turner's brief tenure.

In his statement, Turner refrained from giving any reasons for his resignation.

However, a UN source told Anadolu Agency that Turner had decided to leave his post because he had lost any hope that conditions in the Gaza Strip would improve.

The source added that UNRWA was "disappointed" that radical solutions had yet to be found regarding the need to rebuild the war-battered Gaza Strip.

Gaza continues to reel from a 51-day Israeli military offensive conducted in July and August of last year.