ABSTRACT
United Nations Relief and Works Agencies (UNRWA’s) humanitarian support activities for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip include the provision of basic food and medical supplies; activities aimed at generating employment and income for labourers with dependants. UNRWA also operates a hospital in the West Bank and offers assistance towards emergency and other secondary treatment, mainly through contractual agreements with non-governmental and private hospitals. UNRWA provided emergency relief for displaced refugees and was additionally empowered by a UN General Assembly resolution to provide ‘humanitarian assistance, as far as practicable, on an emergency basis and as a temporary measure’ for those persons other than Palestine refugees who were newly displaced and in urgent need. In mid-May UNRWA organized an online event on ‘Palestinians and Palestine refugees in the COVID-19 Pandemic’ on the sidelines of the virtual 73rd world health assembly.
