UNRWA warns $100 million funding gap threatens services

UNRWA Acting Commissioner-General Christian Saunders has warned that the agency is facing an exceptional financial crisis, with an estimated cash-flow deficit of about $100 million in 2026, stressing that additional funding is urgently needed to maintain essential services for Palestine refugees.

Speaking at a ministerial meeting on UNRWA held on the sidelines of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, Saunders said conditions facing Palestine refugees are becoming increasingly difficult as hopes for the future diminish. He noted that while the ceasefire in Gaza has provided some relief, millions of Palestinians continue to live amid profound insecurity.

Saunders warned that the approaching winter, severe funding shortages and continued restrictions on the entry of essential supplies threaten the humanitarian response in Gaza as needs continue to grow.

He said 94% of Gaza’s population lacks adequate shelter, 90% experiences repeated disruptions in access to clean water, and 98% of households live near environmental hazards, including sewage, rubble and rodents.

More than one million people receiving services

Saunders said more than 10,000 UNRWA staff continue to provide services and assistance to around 1.7 million people in Gaza. Their work includes operating more than 80 emergency shelters, returning hundreds of thousands of children to education, providing around 70,000 medical consultations each week, and delivering water, sanitation and hygiene services to more than one million people.

He stressed that the scale of UNRWA’s operations in Gaza remains enormous and that local communities continue to place their trust in the agency. He described UNRWA as an institution of significant humanitarian and strategic value, with capabilities and expertise that would be difficult to replicate during the current humanitarian response and throughout future recovery and reconstruction.

West Bank and Jerusalem

Saunders warned that the situation in the occupied West Bank is “alarming and becoming increasingly difficult,” saying Palestinian displacement has reached levels not seen since 1967 amid continuing settler violence and increasingly intolerable living conditions.

He said measures taken in East Jerusalem to restrict UNRWA’s operations have extended to the seizure of the agency’s headquarters, vocational training center, schools and health infrastructure. He stressed that such measures neither diminish the rights of Palestine refugees nor contribute to resolving the Palestinian issue.

Saunders added that UNRWA continues to play a vital role in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, as well as across the occupied Palestinian territory. However, the financial crisis has forced the agency to implement austerity and cost-cutting measures, including a 20% reduction in service hours and salary cuts for most local staff.

Funding crisis and austerity measures

Saunders said UNRWA has been forced to scale back services because of its financial crisis, while its cash-flow deficit remains at approximately $100 million this year.

He said the agency is adapting to a changing political and funding environment by seeking to provide services more efficiently and at lower cost, using technology, strengthening cooperation with partners and placing greater emphasis on livelihoods and empowering Palestinian youth.

On neutrality, Saunders said UNRWA continues to implement recommendations from the independent review of the agency, with 41 of 50 recommendations — more than 80% — fully implemented and most of the remainder currently being addressed.

He reaffirmed UNRWA’s commitment to protecting the integrity and neutrality of its staff and maintaining the confidence of member states, while warning of continued attempts to “distort facts and influence public opinion through misinformation” and undermine the agency’s ability to serve Palestine refugees.

Call for urgent funding

Saunders called on countries to provide strong political and financial support for UNRWA and to allow the agency to operate in the occupied Palestinian territory in accordance with its mandate, drawing on its expertise, infrastructure and the trust it has built within Palestinian communities.

He also stressed the urgent need for sufficient funding to sustain UNRWA’s operations, modernize its working methods and ensure the continuation of essential services for millions of Palestine refugees across its areas of operation.