The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has painted a grim picture of life in Gaza, where more than 90% of schools now lie in ruins and the health system has seen no meaningful progress in nearly three years. Yet amid the devastation, a strategic partnership with Saudi Arabia is offering a rare glimmer of hope.
Why it matters: Gaza’s humanitarian collapse has left an entire generation of children without schooling, while diseases once absent from the Strip are now spreading unchecked.
What they’re saying: UNRWA spokesperson Adnan Abu Hasna told Al Ekhbariya channel that conditions across Gaza remain “catastrophic.” He said no real health progress has occurred “in a thousand days,” and that the agency has lost 390 staff members since the war began.
“There has been no health progress in Gaza in a thousand days,” Abu Hasna said, pointing to the collapse of hospitals, water systems and schools alike. He added that diseases “that did not appear before” are now surfacing among Gaza’s population.
Saudi Arabia’s Expanding Role
The big picture: Despite the grim backdrop, Abu Hasna singled out Saudi Arabia as a strategic partner in supporting Palestinian children. The Kingdom’s record backs that assessment up.
- KSrelief has channelled more than $185 million directly to Palestinians since October 2023, Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan told the UN General Assembly.
- Total Saudi support for the Palestinian cause has topped $5.3 billion across 289 projects over the years, according to KSrelief.
- A $40 million KSrelief-UNRWA agreement is funding food for over 250,000 people and tents for 20,000 families, building on an earlier $15 million contribution.
- The Saudi Fund for Development has separately donated $86 million to UNRWA for reconstruction across Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon.
Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, KSrelief’s supervisor general, said the support “comes in response to the directives” of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman “to provide support to the people of Palestine during this life-threatening time.”
Relief Efforts Continue on the Ground
Zoom in: Even as the crisis persists, KSrelief has kept its Economic Empowerment Project running in Gaza, training more than 1,000 vulnerable people and persons with disabilities in digital marketing, translation and other livelihood skills.
The bottom line: UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini has credited Saudi generosity with reflecting the Kingdom’s enduring solidarity with Palestinians. “One knows their friends during hardship,” he said, “and for this, we are grateful to Saudi Arabia… and to the Saudi people.”
As Gaza’s institutions remain in collapse, Saudi Arabia’s continued backing through KSrelief offers one of the few sustained lifelines for the Strip’s most vulnerable residents.
