UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, is the lead organization for the promotion of the rights and welfare of close to 6 million registered Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and the occupied Palestinian territories.
Established in 1949, UNRWA enjoys widespread support from the U.N. member states.
But despite the growing needs of the refugees, the agency has been in a tight financial situation for a decade — long before the current war between Israel and Hamas broke out in early October. It has received enough money to cover core costs only one year in the last decade, although it has produced an overall surplus more often once emergency appeals are taken into account.