The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) appealed on Tuesday for donors to provide $414 million to meet the “critical humanitarian needs” of Palestinian refugees affected by the conflict in Syria.
The Agency’s 2016 Emergency Appeal for the Syria Regional Crisis aims to support 450,000 Palestinian refugees inside Syria, as well as the 60,000 who have fled to Lebanon and Jordan, a UNRWA statement said.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krähenbühl said: “In the midst of the broader Syrian tragedy, and with just two days to go before the London donors’ conference, it is critical that the plight of the Palestine refugee community is not underestimated or forgotten.”
UNRWA added that over 60 per cent of the Palestinian refugees remaining inside Syria (280,000 people) are internally displaced, and an estimated 95 per cent (430,000) are in need of sustained humanitarian assistance.
Nearly $329 million out of the $414 million will be allocated to supporting the humanitarian needs of the Palestinian refugees inside Syria, $63 million for those in Lebanon and $17 million for those in Jordan.
World leaders gather in London on Thursday to try to raise $9 billion for the millions of Syrians hit by the country’s civil war and a refugee crisis spanning Europe and the Middle East.