A family outside their destroyed home in Gaza City. Due to lack of funds, UNRWA may end humanitarian activities in Gaza by the end of February Humanitarian aid
Despite unprecedented challenges, the UN Relief Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) continues to provide vital services to more than 1.5 million people displaced by the fighting in southern Gaza. However, due to a lack of funds, this activity is under threat and may be stopped by the end of February.
Staff at an UNRWA-supported school and volunteers in Deir al-Balah, the sector’s central district, told UN News Service that despite the difficult conditions and restrictions on movement, they continue to distribute food to those in need.
According to school employee Yusef Sakr, people cannot purchase any goods because they are simply not available in stores. “We thank UNRWA for the services it provides and encourage everyone to redouble their efforts to keep help flowing,” he said.
The school is now being used to house people left homeless by Israeli strikes and bombings that began in response to the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7. About 1,200 people were killed and another 240 were taken hostage.
Since then, the school, turned into a shelter, has become a temporary home for hundreds of Palestinians fleeing violence.
UNRWA services are essential
According to Yousef Sakr, in addition to basic necessities, UNRWA provides a variety of services to those in need, including medical, social and psychological assistance.
Sakr himself works as a psychologist and conducts special classes for children and their families.
He stressed that people are in dire need of UNRWA’s help, and any interruption in the agency’s activities will result in further suffering for Gazans.
Children’s morbidity
UNRWA staff member Inaam Rabe is responsible for providing health and social services to people with special needs and the elderly in Deir al-Balah. She noted that the humanitarian aid received is not enough and vulnerable people are being pushed to the brink of survival.
According to her, due to the lack of hygiene products, medicines, clothes and blankets, the number of infections with hepatitis and other diseases among children has increased over the past two weeks.
Multiple threats
Despite forced displacement and ongoing bombing that threatens UNRWA staff themselves, the agency continues to support the people of Gazan. Since the start of the war, more than 150 UNRWA staff have been killed across the sector, and dozens of agency offices and warehouses have been destroyed.
The largest humanitarian organization in the enclave runs shelters housing more than million people, and provides essential humanitarian and medical support to Palestinian women.
No other agency has the capacity to provide assistance on the scale needed to meet the needs of the sector’s 2.2 million residents, stated to UNRWA.
Funding cuts
Last month, a number of donor countries suspended funding to UNRWA after Israel accused 12 agency employees of involvement in the October 7 attacks.
Nine staff members were immediately dismissed due to the severity of the allegations, and UNRWA is currently investigating. The Office of Internal Oversight Services, the UN’s top investigative body, is also investigating the allegations.
Read also:
UN chief creates independent panel to review UNRWA
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calls on governments that have suspended funding for UNRWA, reconsider its decision and ensure the continuation of vital humanitarian work in Gaza. throughout the region, including Gaza, by the end of February. 5.9 million Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria depend on UNRWA support.