Amid Israel-Hamas War India donates $2.5 million to UNRWA for Gaza’s Palestinian refugees

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) welcomed India’s USD 2.5 million donation on Tuesday, citing it as a “difficult time” given the situation, especially in Gaza.

Since its founding in 1950, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) has provided direct aid as well as work programs to registered Palestine refugees. Nearly all of its funding comes from voluntarily donated funds from UN members.

As part of its yearly contribution of USD 5 million for the year 2023–2024 to support UNRWA’s core programs and services, including social services, healthcare, education, and relief offered to Palestinian refugees, India gave USD 2.5 million to the organization on Monday, according to the Representative Office of India in Ramallah.

The donation was given to Karim Amer, the Director of Partnerships in the UNRWA Department of External Relations, by Renu Yadav, the Representative of India (ROI) to Palestine.

During the handover ceremony at UNRWA’s field office in Jerusalem, the ROI emphasized India’s ongoing support for the agency’s operations in the region and on the services it offers to Palestinian refugees, according to an official press release.

“Confirming that UNRWA received a very generous contribution from India yesterday (Monday), which is most welcome during these difficult times and in the face of huge needs across the region, particularly in Gaza,” a spokesperson for UNRWA, Tamara Alrifai, told PTI.

Since the Israel-Hamas conflict on October 7, which forced more than two-thirds of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents to flee their homes, the UNRWA has struggled to provide basic services to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.

Through the El-Arish Airport in Egypt, India had earlier on November 19 delivered 32 tonnes of “humanitarian assistance to the people of Palestine.”

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