Under the 2025 United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) Flash Appeal, UNRWA is seeking US$ 1.7 billion to address the most critical humanitarian needs of 1.9 million vulnerable Palestine refugees and nonrefugees in Gaza and over 275,000 persons in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. This Appeal comes in response to the ongoing, unprecedented escalation of conflict and protection crisis across the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. It outlines the estimated resource requirements to reduce suffering and prevent further loss of life.

The 2.1 million residents of the Gaza Strip are living in a state of acute humanitarian crisis, precariously close to famine. Nearly all essential infrastructure, including health, energy, water, waste management and shelter has been destroyed or rendered inoperable as a result of the war. This dire situation is likewise a result of the ongoing access restrictions faced by humanitarian actors, preventing the delivery of vital aid and services. Over a year into the conflict, the toll on human lives has been devastating. As at 17 December 2024, more than 45,000 Palestinians, including women and children, have been killed and at least 107,000 injured, while thousands remain missing under the rubble. In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the loss of life, violence, demolitions and movement restrictions have reached levels unseen since the second intifada (2000-05). Meanwhile, 2024 has become the deadliest year for humanitarian personnel on UN record. The war in Gaza has driven this surge in casualties, with at least 320 humanitarian workers killed in the first year of the conflict, the vast majority of whom were UNRWA personnel.

On 28 October 2024, the Israeli Knesset passed two bills which seek to prohibit UNRWA’s activities and preclude contact between the Agency and Israeli officials. It is unclear whether and to what extent these laws will be implemented. Moreover, it is unclear whether their geographic scope would cover the oPt (i.e. East Jerusalem, West Bank and Gaza) in part or in full.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Agency fully intends to continue complying with the mandate provided to it by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). This mandate has recently been reaffirmed by UNGA resolution A/ES-10/L.32 of 12 December 2024, entitled “Support for the mandate of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.” The resolution, passed with 159 states in favour, underscores the irreplaceability of the

Agency and stresses "the importance of cooperation of all States and other United Nations bodies with the Agency to enable the effective implementation of its mandate in all fields of operation until the realization of a just solution to the question of Palestine, including for the Palestine refugees, in accordance with the relevant UN resolutions." At a time when the entire population of Gaza is reliant on humanitarian aid, no organization can replace or substitute UNRWA. Unprecedented needs require a response at scale; the Agency remains the backbone of that response. UNRWA constitutes well over half of the entire emergency response in Gaza. From the onset of the conflict, the Agency has distributed food to 1.9 million people facing extreme hunger, while facilitating approximately 63 per cent of all primary health care consultations in Gaza, averaging 16,000 per day and reaching 1.6 million since the start of the conflict. With 90 per cent of the population displaced (1.9 million people), over one hundred UNRWA facilities out of 350 installations in total have been converted into emergency shelters, housing some 400,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in December 2024. In addition to managing shelters, the Agency provides over half of all shelter and non-food item (NFI) assistance monthly, ensuring vital support reaches those in need. Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services remain a cornerstone of UNRWA’s operations, supplying over 600,000 persons with water from its wells, producing 80 million litres monthly. Moreover, the Agency continues to provide solid waste collection and transfer services, with around 10,000 tonnes of waste collected from camps and emergency shelters and moved to temporary dumping sites in October alone. The above-mentioned services are provided every day by thousands of UNRWA staff who, though displaced and themselves severely affected by the war, continue to report to duty and deliver assistance to an entire population in need.

Prior to the conflict, the Agency ran half of all schools in the Gaza Strip, providing basic education to some 300,000 students. Since the hostilities began, as UNRWA schools turned into shelters for the displaced, the Agency has become the primary provider of emergency education and psychosocial support (PSS) with over 520,000 children reached with PSS and recreational activities. Since August, UNRWA’s ‘Back to Learning’ programme providing basic numeracy, psychosocial activities (singing, drawing etc.) and reading skills to children, also benefitted over 18,000 traumatized schoolchildren in its shelters, with a focus on expanding informal learning activities.

In addition to the direct distribution of assistance, the entire aid operation in Gaza is reliant on UNRWA for critical common services and last mile support. The Agency provides support for the distribution of humanitarian assistance; to date, UNRWA still receives, stores and distributes all fuel that formally enters the Gaza Strip, coordinates monitoring and support for aid missions inside the Strip and hosts dozens of sister humanitarian agencies and the inter-agency coordination mechanism in its facilities in Khan Younis. Approximately 1.4 million people in need have been served with non-UNRWA food parcels distributed by the Agency. Without UNRWA, the collective humanitarian response, including the delivery of emergency food, shelter, WASH and health care services to most of Gaza’s population would grind to a halt.

Against this backdrop, in 2025, UNRWA is seeking funds to support the distribution of critical food rations for people in Gaza, including nutritional supplies for people who have sought refuge in and around the Agency’s emergency shelters, to avert famine. UNRWA will provide primary health care to more than people through seven of its health centres that are still operational, including five temporary health centres and mobile medical points located in and outside the shelters, which are equipped with emergency, trauma and delivery kits. Some medical points will be expanded to provide more comprehensive care. Inside and around the shelters, NFIs such as mattresses, blankets, kitchen sets and hygiene kits will be delivered to at least IDPs. Mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) will be provided to IDPs sheltering in and around UNRWA facilities, particularly some children. Protection monitoring will be scaled up through dedicated focal points in each emergency shelter, with identified cases, including survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) and unaccompanied and separated children, referred to case management and targeted assistance. As the situation allows, remote formal education will be extended to approximately UNRWA students, ensuring continuity of learning and support for their educational needs. Emergency multipurpose cash assistance (MPCA) for up to most vulnerable households will also be provided, contingent on prevailing conditions.

In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, UNRWA will support Palestine refugees most impacted by dramatically rising protection violations and access restrictions imposed by the Israeli authorities. In and outside of camps, the Agency will provide shelter assistance for Palestine refugees affected by Israeli home demolitions, displacements and other major impacts on safe tenure due to protection violations. UNRWA will also repair critical water and sanitation infrastructure in Palestine refugee camps damaged by militarized Israeli operations, to ensure continuity of services for the registered Palestine refugees living there, representing a quarter of the total registered refugee population in the West Bank. The Agency will address the basic needs of the most vulnerable Palestine refugees and others affected by movement restrictions, including through food assistance to of the most vulnerable, encompassing more than 15,600 Palestine refugee families, and livelihood interventions befitting Palestine refugee households. Finally, UNRWA will ensure access to basic services for populations in hard-to-reach communities, including health care for individuals and education for vulnerable students at Agency schools.

The Appeal includes the UNRWA Headquarters functions required to support the emergency response in Gaza, West Bank, as well as regional preparedness and support. UNRWA’s interventions will be reviewed regularly as the situation evolves with regard to the recently passed legislation by the Israeli Knesset, depending on whether these are implemented and if so, to what extent, where and within what timeframe. The Agency’s planning is fully aligned with the assumptions laid out in the inter-agency oPt Flash Appeal.

humanitarian assistance remains the primary means of addressing life-saving needs for Palestinians in 2025, with the UN continuing as the largest actor on the ground due to the absence of a clear political resolution. Assistance must often be distributed to the same population multiple times, as ongoing Israeli evacuation orders and continued bombardment repeatedly displace communities. Market functionality and access to cash remain limited, with the financial sector largely incapacitated. Operational costs continue to rise due to high expenses associated with storage and demurrage, as critical supplies are denied access into Gaza. These challenges are compounded by security concerns and rising commodity prices, as local sourcing remains extremely limited. The lack of facilitated movement and ongoing military operations continue to significantly restrict the mobility of humanitarian supplies and actors, as well as civilians. The Wadi Gaza checkpoint and excessive administrative bureaucratic procedures imposed by the Israeli authorities will likely remain in place, further complicating operations. Should a ceasefire come into place, further to ongoing negotiations at the time of writing, the situation would have to be re-assessed, but unless the breakdown of law and order in Gaza is fully addressed and an environment conducive to the safe and efficient entry and delivery of aid is put in place, it is unlikely that the vast majority of the above-mentioned assumptions would change. In the absence of any functioning private and commercial sector, Gazans would still be wholly dependent on humanitarian aid.

In the West Bank, violence is intensifying, including through increased airstrikes by the Israeli Security Forces (ISF), and Israeli settler attacks. Escalating assaults on health, education and WASH facilities lead to the repeated destruction of essential civilian infrastructure. Large-scale restrictions on movement continue to impede Palestinians and humanitarian actors from traveling between cities or areas. The continued Israeli restrictions on exports and imports, combined with a collapse in Palestinian Authority (PA) revenues, hinder salary payments and the provision of essential services. Unemployment is at 60 per cent, with private sector liquidity shrinking and informal trade reduced. Limited access to employment opportunities, due to Israeli work permit restrictions, as well as agricultural lands will further exacerbate livelihood challenges.