UNRWA has been experiencing a major crisis since Israel said that 12 of the agency’s 13,000 employees in Gaza participated in the attack led by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) on Israel on October 7. This caused donors to suspend funding for the agency.
UNRWA was established in 1949 to provide vital services to Palestinian refugees, and currently provides its services to approximately 5.9 million Palestinians throughout the region. More than half a million children also enroll in its schools, and its clinics receive more than 7 million visits every year.