UNRWA Annual Operational Report 2024

15 July 2025

Executive Summary:

In 2024, Palestine Refugees confronted a human tragedy that reshaped their world and generated immense loss, profound suffering and mass displacement that touched nearly every life. By the end of the year, the deepening humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza had claimed over 45,000 lives, with thousands more lying unaccounted for under the rubble of their homes. Survivors endured inhumane conditions, subjected to tightly restricted aid flows and cyclical evacuation orders that stripped them of both their possessions and dignity, while pushing them to the brink of famine. Diseases eradicated decades ago, such as polio, returned amid the collapse of water, sanitation and hygiene systems.

As it has done for 75 years, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) stood as a vital lifeline that provided assistance and protection to Palestine Refugees in times of greatest need, even as the Agency itself faced relentless pressure. In Gaza, UNRWA continued to leverage its expansive operational footprint to deliver life-saving assistance at scale, providing food, water, shelter and medical care to Refugees and non-refugees alike. The Agency was not only the largest provider of humanitarian assistance, it also stood as the central pillar of the overall aid response, hosting partner agencies in its premises, disbursing aid on behalf of others and importing and distributing fuel to sustain humanitarian operations, including hospitals, bakeries, communications and water networks. These efforts were carried out under exceptionally challenging conditions, marked by severe restrictions on the entry of humanitarian supplies, consistent violations of UNRWA’s privileges and immunities, the regular denial of movement and overall breakdown of law and order; conditions that forced Agency staff to risk their lives on a daily basis to deliver life-saving services to others. This perseverance came at a tragic cost: 108 UNRWA personnel – most also husbands, wives, fathers and mothers – were killed in Gaza over the course of the year, many in the line of duty or in their homes alongside their families. By the end of 2024, a total of 263 Agency personnel had been killed since the onset of the war.

The war in Gaza unleashed a devastating chain reaction across the region, bringing further death, destruction and displacement. In Lebanon, 11 months of escalating hostilities with Israel erupted into full-scale conflict, resulting in 4,000 fatalities and the displacement of 900,000 people, many of them Palestine Refugees. In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, a surge in violence, coupled with extensive movement restrictions, decimated livelihoods and fed into an increasing sense of helplessness. In Syria, reported Israeli airstrikes across eastern governorates intensified after the collapse of the Assad regime and were accompanied by a ground advance into the demilitarized zone of the Golan Heights.

During the reporting period, UNRWA’s ability to meet the essential – often lifesaving – needs of Palestine Refugees, as mandated by United Nations (UN) Member States, was undermined by sustained physical, political and legislative attacks, including damage to and destruction of its installations, violations of the inviolability of its premises, an aggressive global disinformation campaign and intense lobbying by the Government of Israel and affiliated groups to eliminate the Agency. These attacks culminated in the October 2024 adoption of Israeli legislation that strips UNRWA of the protections and operational means necessary to carry out its mandate in Gaza and East Jerusalem.

In early 2024, the Government of Israel alleged that 19 of the Agency’s over 30,000 personnel had participated in the atrocious attacks on Israel launched by Hamas and other armed groups on 7 October 2023. The UN Secretary- General and the UNRWA Commissioner-General took swift action in response to these serious claims. An independent investigation by the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services was immediately launched, resulting in cases against 10 staff being dropped due to insufficient evidence to support the allegations. One of those cases was agreed to have been a misidentification of the individual concerned. Cases against the remaining nine staff concluded that if authenticated and corroborated, the evidence may indicate misconduct; and although that threshold of proof was not reached, all nine were separated in the interest of the Agency. To date, there remains insufficient evidence to support the allegations, despite requests by UNRWA for such evidence from the Government of Israel.

The UN Secretary-General also commissioned an independent review to assess whether the Agency was doing everything within its power to ensure neutrality and respond appropriately to allegations of serious breaches when they arose. The review, led by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, found that UNRWA has a more developed approach to neutrality than similar UN entities or non-governmental organizations (NGOs).5 At the same time, it identified areas for improvement to reinforce the Agency’s institutional integrity and issued a series of recommendations in relation to donor engagement, governance, management and internal oversight, neutrality of staff and installations, education, staff unions and enhanced cooperation with UN entities. UNRWA committed to fully implement these recommendations.6

Amid increasing Palestine Refugee needs across the region, the Agency delivered human development, protection and humanitarian assistance to over 3.2 million registered persons during the reporting period.7 Under programme budget support, UNRWA provided primary health care (PHC) to 1,163,543 individual patients,8 education to 241,785 children during the 2023 / 24 academic year, social safety net (SSN) assistance, including cash and food, to 334,114,9 technical and vocational education and training (TVET) to 5,515 youth10 and microfinance loans to 22,677 clients.11 In addition, 920 shelters were rehabilitated or constructed through project funding.12 Protection services were extended across all fields of operation, with psychosocial support (PSS) and social work interventions being provided to 14,026 Refugee clients who faced critical protection risks.13

During the reporting period, through its Syria, Lebanon and Jordan Emergency Appeal (EA), the Agency continued to respond to the humanitarian needs of Palestine Refugees in these fields of operation, including those affected by ongoing hostilities in Syria and the socio-economic crisis in Lebanon.14 UNRWA disbursed emergency cash assistance to 414,673 Palestine Refugees in Syria and provided in-kind food assistance to 48,410. In addition, 48,693 Palestine Refugee students in Syria completed the academic year in Agency schools and health services were maintained.15

In Lebanon, under EA funding, multi-purpose cash assistance (MPCA) was extended to 23,075 Palestinian Refugees from Syria (PRS) as well as 142,748 Palestine Refugees in Lebanon (PRL).16 Health services continued to be provided to PRL and PRS, alike, while 3,965 PRS and Syrian children were provided with quality, inclusive and equitable education. In Jordan, quarterly cash grants were provided to 20,442 PRS in support of basic needs.17 Health services were extended to the PRS population and 1,175 PRS and Syrian children benefitted from the Agency’s education services.18

In response to the conflict between Israel and Lebanon in late 2024, UNRWA launched a flash appeal to address the urgent needs of displaced populations. Support received under this instrument enabled the Agency to establish 11 designated emergency shelters (DESs) across Lebanon that, during the conflict, provided refuge to 4,228 displaced persons, including both Palestine Refugees and non-refugees. In addition, 17,667 PRL adults and 27,713 children residing in conflict-affected areas were provided with MPCA to address urgent socioeconomic needs. In Syria, to where nearly 600,000 individuals from Lebanon sought safety during the conflict, cash assistance was disbursed to help 865 of the most vulnerable Palestine Refugee households and, in partnership with the World Food Programme (WFP), 1,883 individuals were provided with food.

Despite UNRWA raising the second highest level of income in its history in 2024, the massive surge in humanitarian needs of Palestine Refugees outstripped the Agency’s resources. During the reporting period, against overall budgetary needs of United States dollar (US$) 2.7 billion,19 US$ 1.4 billion was secured across all funding portals. Year-on-year funding decreased by US$ 64 million but remained largely resilient due to donations to the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) flash appeals. Contributions were received from an increasingly diverse range of sources, with UNRWA capitalizing on the incredible people-to-people solidarity for the Gaza crisis by mobilizing US$ 141 million, or 10 per cent of total pledges, from private partners. Some US$ 1.14 billion, or 81.7 per cent of total pledges, was provided by institutional (government) donors, of which US$ 356.4 million was received in the form of 24 multi-year agreements (MYAs), while US$ 114.7 million, or 8.2 per cent, was raised through UN partners, including the UN regular budget.

The Agency began the year with US$ 35 million in liabilities carried forward from 2023 and enacted difficult cost reduction measures to ensure the continuity of services, including strict vacancy management, a freeze on the replacement of retirees and reductions in non-staff expenditure. Fifteen donors provided UNRWA with flexibility to use their contributions, amounting to US$ 115 million, across the programme budget, EAs and flash appeals, which was also critical in supporting operations. Overall, the Agency carried forward approximately US$ 35 million in liabilities to 2025.