Qatar, UNRWA agree on $4.5m aid for Palestinians in West Bank

Funding will support over 4,400 workers and patients stranded by Gaza's blockade and ongoing Israeli aggression

CAIRO:

The Qatar Red Crescent and United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) signed on Sunday an agreement to allocate $4.5 million from a Qatari development fund.

The funding will assist over 4,400 Palestinian workers and patients stranded in the West Bank due to ongoing Israeli aggression and Gaza's blockade. The aid aims to support those unable to return to Gaza.

"[The] cash assistance will represent vital support for those displaced who have not been able to return to the Gaza Strip since the start of the Israeli aggression on the Strip last October," a statement from the Qatar's state news agency said.

"Thousands of Palestine refugees from Gaza remain trapped in the West Bank, trapped in this crisis situation, stranded from their loved ones and livelihoods," UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said.

Since Israel's blockade of Gaza began in 2007, movement in and out of the Strip has been heavily restricted, forcing individuals to seek medical care, education, or jobs in the West Bank, while escalating violence often closes borders, trapping those in need of essential services.