The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East is a UN agency that supports the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees. UNRWA's mandate encompasses Palestinians who fled or were expelled during the Nakba,the 1948 Palestine War,and subsequent conflicts,as well as their descendants,including legally adopted children. As of 2019,more than 5.6 million Palestinians are registered with UNRWA as refugees.
Palestinian refugees are citizens of Mandatory Palestine,and their descendants,who fled or were expelled from their country over the course of the 1947–1949 Palestine war and the Six-Day War. Most Palestinian refugees live in or near 68 Palestinian refugee camps across Jordan,Lebanon,Syria,the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. In 2019 more than 5.6 million Palestinian refugees were registered with the United Nations.
Camps are set up by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Jordan,Lebanon,Syria,the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to accommodate Palestinian refugees registered with UNRWA,who fled or were expelled during the 1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War or in the aftermath of the Six-Day War in 1967,and their patrilineal descendants. There are 68 Palestinian refugee camps,58 official and 10 unofficial,ten of which were established after the Six-Day War while the others were established in 1948 to 1950s.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is a United Nations (UN) body established in December 1991 by the General Assembly to strengthen the international response to complex emergencies and natural disasters. It is the successor to the Office of the United Nations Disaster Relief Coordinator (UNDRO).
Pierre Krähenbühl is director-general of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC),the organization’s second-highest-ranking position,a role he began in April 2024. He previously served as ICRC’s Director of Operations from 2002 to early 2014.
Issues relating to the State of Palestine and aspects of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict occupy continuous debates,resolutions,and resources at the United Nations. Since its founding in 1948,the United Nations Security Council,as of January 2010,has adopted 79 resolutions directly related to the Arab–Israeli conflict.
Jalazone is a Palestinian refugee camp in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate,located 7 kilometers (4.3 mi) north of Ramallah and adjacent to the village of Jifna to the north,Deir Dibwan to the east,Bir Zeit to the west and the Beit El Israeli settlement to the southeast.
A blockade has been imposed on the movement of goods and people in and out of the Gaza Strip since Hamas's takeover in 2007,led by Israel and supported by Egypt. The blockade's current stated aim is to prevent the smuggling of weapons into Gaza;previously stated motivations have included exerting economic pressure on Hamas. Human rights groups have called the blockade illegal and a form of collective punishment,as it restricts the flow of essential goods,contributes to economic hardship,and limits Gazans' freedom of movement. The blockade and its effects have led to the territory being called an "open-air prison".
The al-Fakhura school incident was an Israeli military strike that took place during the Gaza War on 6 January 2009 near a United Nations-run school in the Jabalia Camp in the Gaza Strip. According to the UN and several non-governmental organizations (NGOs),more than 40 people were killed. Israel reported the death toll as nine Hamas militants and three noncombatants with senior IDF officers stating that the death toll published by Hamas was "grossly exaggerated". Israel stated it fired on the school in response to militant gunfire believed to be coming from al-Fakhura. A UN inquiry said that there was no firing from within the school and there were no explosives within the school,but could not establish if militants fired from the vicinity of the school.
John Ging,an Irish national,was appointed as Director of the Operational Division at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in New York in February 2011. He oversaw the management of all OCHA field operations worldwide. On behalf of the Emergency Relief Coordinator,he was the day-to-day focal point for supporting Humanitarian Coordinators. Ging was also the lead adviser to the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs on operational decision-making.
There are multiple humanitarian,medical,economic,and industrial effects of the 2008–2009 Gaza War which started with the Israeli air strikes on 27 December 2008 and ended on 18 January with a cease-fire implemented unilaterally by Israel,and later the same day by Hamas and other Palestinian factions. The cease-fire followed twenty-two days of bombardment by land,sea and air which left over 1,300 Palestinians dead and over 5,000 injured,and the death of 13 Israelis. The United Nations Development Programme warned that there will be long-term consequences of the attacks on Gaza because the livelihoods and assets of tens of thousands of Gaza civilians have been affected.
Ross Stewart Mountain has spent most of his career in the service of the United Nations working on humanitarian,recovery,development and peacekeeping operations in Asia,Africa,the Middle East,the Caribbean,and the Pacific as well as assignments based in Geneva,Switzerland promoting non-governmental action and managing UN humanitarian operations.
Filippo Grandi is an Italian diplomat and United Nations official,currently serving as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. He previously served as Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and United Nations Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan.
The 2014 Israeli shelling of UNRWA Gaza shelters were seven shellings at UNRWA facilities in the Gaza Strip which took place between 21 July and 3 August 2014 during the Israeli-Gaza conflict. The incidents were the result of artillery,mortar or aerial missile fire which struck on or near the UNRWA facilities being used as shelters for Palestinians,and as a result at least 44 civilians,including 10 UN staff,died. During the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict,many Palestinians fled their homes after warnings by Israel or due to air strikes or fighting in the area. An estimated 290,000 people took shelter in UNRWA schools.
Ugochi (Ugo) Daniels is the IOM's Deputy Director General of Operations,taking office on September 1,2021.
Internally displaced persons in Syria are more than half the people fleeing the Syrian Civil War moved only within Syria itself. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that 7 million persons in Syria are internally displaced or in need of humanitarian assistance,as of 2017. Most live in houses,often badly damaged by the war. Due to security concerns,poor access to areas of need and unpredictability,humanitarian efforts were directed at emergency aid. The complexity of administrative procedures and limited capacity of NGOs permitted to operate in Syria are also cited as challenges to assistance.
The Gaza Strip is experiencing a humanitarian crisis as a result of the Israel–Hamas war. The crisis includes both a famine and a healthcare collapse. At the start of the war,Israel tightened its blockade on the Gaza Strip,which has resulted in significant shortages of fuel,food,medication,water,and essential medical supplies. This siege resulted in a 90% drop in electricity availability,impacting hospital power supplies,sewage plants,and shutting down the desalination plants that provide drinking water. Widespread disease outbreaks have spread across Gaza.
In early 2024,Israel made a series of allegations against United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA),including that a number of its Gaza Strip staff had participated in the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel,and that hundreds of them were members of militant groups. The allegations led to aid cuts to the organization,most of which were later reversed with the exception of the United States,the organization's largest donor,after inquiries found the membership claims to be unsubstantiated. The claims of participation in the attacks are being investigated,some already dismissed for lack of evidence. UNRWA,which for decades had faced Israeli allegations surrounding its neutrality,is the largest relief organization in the Gaza Strip that is undergoing a humanitarian crisis and famine during the Israel-Hamas war.
