In 2020, in order to maintain the provision of essential humanitarian assistance to Palestine refugees in the oPt, UNRWA will continue to prioritize the most critical interventions in its emergency appeal, in line with the approach adopted by the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) in the...
Gaza Emergency
Gaza Emergency
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The Acting Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Christian Saunders, today called for a minimum of US$ 1.4 billion to fund the Agency’s essential services and assistance, including life-saving humanitarian aid and priority projects, for 5.6 million registered Palestine refugees across the Middle East for the year 2020. -
In December 2019, the United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly in support of the extension of the UNRWA mandate until 2023. As long as Palestine refugees remain refugees, UNRWA is the organization that they turn to for education, health care, housing, social services, financial... -
Rahma Mu’ammar is a ninth-grade student at the UNRWA al-Fukhari Preparatory Girls’ School in Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip with a very special dream: she wants to establish a sports centre for women in the Gaza Strip. -
Ranna Al Ramlawi is a 24-year old Palestine refugee from Gaza. Her father suffers from Parkinson's disease, leaving him unable to move or work. Ranna’s mother is a teacher at an UNRWA school in the besieged strip. One of nine children, Ranna was unable to complete a university education because of the tough financial straits her family was in. Despite these challenges Ranna managed to create a window of hope through art. Her fierce determination to overcome her challenges led her to turn her frustration and anger into expression through the creation of sand sculptures. “I always loved to draw... -
110 students from UNRWA elementary and preparatory schools in Gaza participated in the “Peace with Japan Art Contest,” co-organized by UNRWA and Takeda High School in Hiroshima, Japan.
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The ongoing blockade on land, air and sea imposed by Israel following the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip in 2007 will enter its 13th year in June 2019 in the context of ongoing occupation of the Palestinian territory. Long-standing restrictions on movement of people and goods have led to a de-development of Gaza and have had a devastating effect on people’s lives. Today, just over one million Palestine refugees out of a total population of 1.4 million are reliant on UNRWA food assistance, as compared to just 80,000 in 2000. In addition, repeated hostilities in recent years have caused tremendous levels of destruction of physical infrastructure, loss of human life, and have contributed to serious deterioration of the social fabric. Already high levels of psychosocial stress, especially among children, have been further exacerbated in the context of the high human costs of the so-called Great March or Return demonstrations (hyperlink) on the Gaza side of the security fence separating the Gaza Strip and Israel that began on 30 March 2018. |
| 13 years of blockade | |
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Longstanding restrictions on the movement of people and goods to and from Gaza have undermined the living conditions of 1.9 million Palestinians in Gaza. Israel prevents all access to and from the Gaza Strip by sea and air. Movement of people and goods in and out of Gaza is restricted to three crossings: Rafah crossing, Erez crossing and Kerem Shalom crossings. Rafah crossing is controlled by the Egyptian authorities and allows for the movement of a number of authorized travellers, Palestinian medical and humanitarian cases. Erez crossing is controlled by Israeli authorities and technically allows for the movement of aid workers and limited numbers of authorized travellers, including Palestinian medical and humanitarian cases. Kerem Shalom crossing, also controlled by Israeli authorities, technically allows for the movement of authorized goods only. |
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| what we do - emergency response | |||||||||||||||||||||
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As the largest UN organization in the Gaza Strip and the only UN Agency that implements services directly, UNRWA has been and continues to be in a unique position to deliver emergency assistance to Palestine refugees in Gaza. In addition to its human development services, primarily in the fields of education and health, critical emergency interventions provided by UNRWA in 2019 focus on:
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| Gaza Shelter Reconstruction | |
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The 2014 hostilities caused significant destruction in Gaza with 141,650 Palestine refugee housing units damaged, including 12,950 that were severely damaged or totally destroyed. In addition, the hostilities further weakened electricity, water, and sanitation systems, already suffering through years of neglect due to blockade and internal divide... more |
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* Number of totally demolished homes as a result of the 2014 hostilities is 7,400. Around 2,400 shelters are excluded from the graph as they have been reconstructed for by MoPW. |
Latest News
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The Acting Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and...
In 2020, in order to maintain the provision of essential humanitarian assistance to Palestine refugees in the oPt, UNRWA will continue to...
UNRWA in Gaza - Key Statistics
UNRWA in Gaza - Key Statistics
- 1.4 million registered refugees out of 1.9 million total population (approximately 74 per cent)
- 8 refugee camps
- Over 13,000 staff
- 274 schools for over 278,000 students
- 22 health centres
- 16 relief and social services offices
- 3 micro-finance offices
- 11 food distribution centres for almost one million beneficiaries
- 5 maintenance and 8 infrastructure and camp improvement branch offices to ensure refuse disposal, insect/pest control and regular maintenance works