Palestinian Refugees on the Edge: What the UNRWA Ban Means for Millions
- Ingrid Jones
- Middle East
- D.O.C Supplements - Trending News
- January 22, 2025

Image Credit, Hosny Salah
In just six days, Israel’s ban on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) will take effect, an unprecedented policy shift with devastating implications for Palestinian refugees. This development comes as the international community braces for the fallout, highlighted in a new report from the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO). The report provides a sobering account of the humanitarian crisis likely to follow the cessation of UNRWA operations in Israeli-controlled areas, including East Jerusalem.
The Israeli Knesset enacted the legislation in October 2024, setting January 28 as the implementation date. This decision effectively bars UNRWA from operating in territories under Israeli control, a move that threatens to upend essential services relied upon by millions. Education, healthcare, and food assistance—all cornerstones of UNRWA’s mandate—now hang in the balance.
Jørgen Jensehaugen, Senior Researcher at PRIO and co-author of the report, underscores the gravity of the situation: “UNRWA provides a lifeline to some of the most vulnerable communities in the region. In less than a week, its absence could devastate Gaza’s humanitarian infrastructure and trigger a healthcare and education collapse in the West Bank.”
The PRIO study, Consequences of the Israeli UNRWA Ban, paints a grim picture. In Gaza, where nearly two million residents depend on UNRWA aid, the disruption will deepen an already dire humanitarian crisis. The region’s fragile healthcare system, which relies on UNRWA for 4.4 million annual outpatient consultations, will face collapse. Patients will lose access to routine check-ups, medications, and emergency care, leaving countless lives in jeopardy.
Education, a less-discussed but equally critical component of UNRWA’s work, is also under threat. Before the latest conflict, UNRWA schools in Gaza educated nearly 300,000 students. The report warns that no existing entity can adequately fill this gap, leaving children vulnerable to a fragmented, substandard education system that could take years to stabilize.
The situation in the West Bank is equally precarious. UNRWA’s healthcare and social services are vital to thousands of Palestinian refugees, who now face the prospect of life without consistent access to these essential resources. As the policy deadline looms, there is little indication of how replacement systems will be structured or funded, compounding fears of widespread humanitarian breakdown.
The international community is scrambling to address the impending crisis, but time is running out. Replacing UNRWA’s infrastructure—built over decades—would require years of investment and planning. Humanitarian experts estimate that creating alternative systems could take one to three years, during which the most vulnerable populations would bear the brunt of service gaps.
“The clock is ticking, and without coordinated global action, the repercussions will be serious,” Jensehaugen warns. “The crisis will be most acutely felt in Gaza, but the ripple effects in the West Bank could push the situation to a breaking point.”
As the ban’s implementation draws closer, the question remains: will the global community act decisively to prevent a humanitarian disaster, or will millions of Palestinian refugees be left to face an uncertain and precarious future?