Qatar has always stood by the people of Palestine in their just struggle against the illegal Israeli occupation of their land and their right to an independent Palestinian state. Qatar has been making humanitarian efforts particularly in the Gaza Strip, which has been under the Israeli blockade for several years and is currently going through one of the biggest crises of recent history. The Israeli military has been relentlessly bombarding the densely-populated Palestinian territory since October 7, killing at least 10,569 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly civilians.
Over the years, Qatar has financially supported operations of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to help Palestinian refugees within and outside Palestine. Since its establishment, the UN agency has been providing basic services and vital needs to more than five million Palestinian refugees. Its responsibilities have significantly increased due to the current catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, as a result of the Israeli bombardment of civilian infrastructure including hospitals, schools, residential areas, and shelters for the displaced.
In 2018, Qatar became the first Arab country to sign a multi-year agreement with UNRWA to support its core resources, and in June this year Qatar pledged $18m in support for UNRWA’s core resources for 2023-2024. Speaking at the UN this week, a Qatari diplomat said the country will continue supporting UNRWA and called on the international community and donors to provide sufficient financial support to enable the agency carry out its mandate.
The ongoing Israeli onslaught has also killed at least 88 UNRWA relief workers, the highest number of United Nations fatalities ever recorded in a single conflict. The UNRWA currently employs some 13,000 staff in the Gaza Strip. According to UN officials, around 1.5 million out of Gaza’s 2.4 million people have been displaced due to Israeli bombardment. More than 550,000 people are sheltering in 92 establishments run by UNRWA.
Qatar is also engaged in diplomacy to achieve the pause in hostilities, delivery of urgent humanitarian aid to people trapped under bombardment in Gaza, and release of captives.
With mounting death toll and amid the unfolding catastrophic situation in Gaza, an immediate ceasefire must be achieved, and Israel must be held responsible for the multiple war crimes committed against Gazans. The international community has a moral responsibility to resolve the Palestinian issue once and for all, by ending the occupation and ensuring the establishment of a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
