UNRWA, a lifeline for Palestinians amid decades of conflict

The agency has also long been a lightening rod for harsh Israeli criticism, which has ramped up dramatically since the start of the war in Gaza, following Hamas’s deadly October 7 attacks last year.

UNRWA, which coordinates nearly all aid to Gaza, has seen more than 220 of its staff killed in the war there – even as it has faced dramatic funding cuts and calls for its dismantlement amid Israeli accusations that some of its workers took part in the October 7 attack.

Created in wake of war

UNRWA was established in December 1949 by the UN General Assembly in the wake of the first Arab-Israeli conflict following Israel’s creation in May 1948.

The agency, which began its operations on May 1, 1950, was tasked with assisting some 750,000 Palestinians who had been expelled during the war.

It was supposed to be a short-term fix, but in the absence of a solution to the Palestinian refugee problem, the General Assembly has repeatedly renewed UNRWA’s mandate, most recently extending it until June 30, 2026.

Millions of refugees

The number of Palestinian refugees under its charge has meanwhile ballooned to nearly six million across Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.

Palestinian refugees are defined as “persons whose normal place of residence was Palestine during the period 1 June 1946 to 15 May 1948, and who lost both home and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 conflict”.

Their descendents also have refugee status.

Operations

UNRWA is unique among UN organisations in its direct service delivery model, and is the main provider of basic public services, including education, healthcare, and social services for registered Palestinian refugees.

It employs more than 30,000 people, mainly Palestinian refugees and a small number of international staff.

The organisation counts 58 official refugee camps and runs more than 700 schools for over 540,000 students.

It also runs 141 primary healthcare facilities, with nearly seven million patient visits each year, and provides emergency food and cash assistance to some 1.8 million people.

UNRWA in Gaza

In the Gaza Strip, controlled by Hamas since 2007, the humanitarian situation was already critical before the war between Israel and Hamas began last October, with more than 80 percent of the population living below the poverty line.

The territory, squeezed between Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea, counts eight camps and around 1.7 million refugees, the overwhelming majority of the population of 2.4 million, according to the UN.

The situation has spiralled into catastrophe following Hamas’s deadly attack inside Israel on October 7, 2023.

Israel’s retaliatory military offensive has killed more than 43,000 people, mostly civilians, according to figures from the territory’s health ministry, deemed reliable by the UN.

Two-thirds of buildings have been damaged and nearly the entire population of Gaza has been displaced, many of them multiple times, the UN says.

“In the midst of all the upheaval, UNRWA, more than ever, is indispensable. UNRWA, more than ever, is irreplaceable,” UN chief Antonio Guterres has said.

UNRWA, which employs some 13,000 people in Gaza, has seen two-thirds of its facilities there damaged or destroyed.

Israeli criticism

Israel has long been harshly critical of UNRWA, alleging it is perpetuating the Palestinian refugee problem and that its schools use textbooks that promote hatred of Israel.

Since October 7, the criticism has ballooned, targeting UNRWA in Gaza especially.

In January, Israel accused a dozen of UNRWA’s Gaza employees of involvement in the October 7 attack by Hamas.

A series of probes found some “neutrality related issues” at UNRWA, and determined that nine employees “may have been involved” in the October 7 attack, but found no evidence for Israel’s chief allegations.

The agency, which traditionally has been funded almost exclusively through voluntary contributions from governments, was plunged into crisis as a string of nations halted their backing over Israel’s allegations.

Most donors have since resumed funding.

The barrage of accusations has meanwhile continued, with Israel alleging UNRWA employs “hundreds of Hamas members and even military wing operatives” in Gaza.

Despite objections from the United States and warnings from the UN Security Council, Israeli lawmakers on Monday overwhelmingly passed a bill banning UNRWA from working in Israel and occupied east Jerusalem.