UNRWA and UK aid to the West Bank and Gaza Strip 2023-25

This briefing sets out UK aid commitments to the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) in 2023-25, the position and role of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), and Israeli Government legislation on the agency that came into effect in 2025.

The Commons Library research briefing, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories in 2025: UK and international response summarises events in the 2023-25 Israel-Hamas conflict, the situation in Gaza and the West Bank, and the UK response. The attached briefing (9990a) details aid access into Gaza from October 2023 to January 2025, before the ceasefire-hostage agreement of January 2025.

What is the level of need in the OPTs in 2025?

The UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) publishes daily updates on the humanitarian situation, including the level of humanitarian need, casualties, damage to infrastructure, and aid access (browse its homepage for ‘flash updates’ and ‘reported impact’).

The UN, EU and World Bank published an interim damage and needs assessment of Gaza in February 2025. This estimated that 95% of hospitals were non-functional, 91% of the population had high levels of acute food insecurity (1.8 million people), and 100% of education facilities were fully destroyed or partially damaged. It estimated reconstruction and recovery costs are US$53 billion, including US$20 billion in the next three years.

While the same level of conflict has not been seen in the West Bank, increased violence in 2023-25 has led to a rise in job losses, home learning for students, and US$1.3 billion in lost activity in the commerce and industry sectors.

How much UK aid has been committed?

From 2009 to 2023, the UK provided a total of £819 million in bilateral aid (aid for a specific programme or purpose) to the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In 2022, the UK gave £22.5 million, the lowest amount in any year since 2009, but in 2023 this increased to £42 million.

For 2023/24, the UK committed over £100 million in aid to the OPTs. This included £35 million to UNRWA before funding was suspended in January 2025 (see below).

For 2024/25, the UK has committed £129 million. This includes £10 million, via the World Bank, for the Palestinian Authority (in the West Bank) to pay public sector salaries, and for Unicef, the UN Children’s Fund. It also includes £34 million for UNRWA, announced in July and December 2024.

How is UK aid spending monitored?

The UK Government states no aid is provided to Hamas, which has governed the Gaza Strip since 2007, and which is designated a terrorist organisation by the UK and is subject to UK sanctions.

Due to “prioritisation exercises” in the aid budget, the UK has not provided direct aid to Palestinian Authority since 2021, though some technical assistance is provided through commercial organisations.

The government says all UK aid to the OPTs “undergoes rigorous oversight”. This includes field visits, annual audits, due diligence assessments, and mapping of downstream partners of the funding.

The government also has a memorandum of understanding with the Palestinian Authority, in which the Authority commits to uphold the principles of non-violence, respect international law and commit to taking action against incitement to violence (among other principles of the memorandum). The UK raises any concerns directly with the Palestinian Authority.

Around half of UK aid to the West Bank and Gaza Strip is delivered through UNRWA, rather than through local authorities or civil society groups.

Suspension of future funding to UNRWA

UNRWA was established in 1949 to provide assistance and services for Palestinian refugees displaced between 1946 and 1948 and their descendants. UNRWA works in Gaza, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria and supports around 5.9 million people.

In January 2024, alongside other donors including the European Union and United States, the UK said it would pause future funding decisions on UNRWA in response to reports that “several” UNRWA staff were involved in the 7 October 2023 Hamas assault against Israel. UNWRA sacked some staff following the allegations. Two reviews were commissioned by the UN:

• Colonna Review: published on 22 April 2024. This set out 50 recommendations for UNRWA, including more screening of UNRWA staff. UNRWA and the UN accepted the recommendations in full, while Israel argued these were “cosmetic” changes and said it would no longer work with UNRWA. The review also noted that in 2024 Israel had not provided supporting evidence that UNRWA staff were members of terrorist groups.
• UN Office of Oversight Services: completed on 5 August. The report investigated allegations against 19 area staff members, though noted it was unable to independently authenticate information used by Israel to support its allegations against UNRWA staff. UNRWA sacked nine staff who it says “may have been involved” in the 7 October 2023 assault.

In January 2024 UK Government said it had made all its planned contributions to UNRWA in the 2023/24 financial year (£35 million) before its decision to pause future funding. It said it would await the findings of two UN inquiry assessments and UNRWA making “detailed undertakings” before deciding.

All countries that paused funding, except the US, restored funding to UNRWA in 2024. The Trump administration has said it will not provide any aid to UNWRA. 2024 US legislation had banned new UNRWA funding (PDF) until at least March 2025.  

Announcing the decision to restore UK funding in July 2024, Foreign Secretary David Lammy welcomed the UN review and UNRWA’s implementation plan to ensure it meets the “highest standards of neutrality”. The government also said that it would monitor UNRWA’s progress on implementing its action plan and continue to conduct its own annual assessment of UK funding to UNRWA. UK funding includes £1 million to support reform to UNRWA.

Israeli legislation against UNRWA, 2024-25

In October 2024 the Israeli Knesset (Parliament) passed two bills which ban Israeli officials from engaging with UNRWA and UNRWA from working in Israeli territory and East Jerusalem. The laws came into force on 31 January 2025.

Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said that UNRWA staff with links to Hamas must be held accountable. Israel has said it will continue to work with other UN agencies, such as the World Food Programme, to deliver aid.

UNRWA, the UN Secretary General, the UK Government, European Union and Biden administration were among those criticising the legislation. The UN General Assembly has referred the issue of Israel’s duties towards UN and other agencies to the International Court of Justice (the UN’s highest court), for an advisory opinion. Proceedings began in February 2025.

The UK Government says the Knesset decision was “wrong” and in January said it will “say more” to the Commons if UNRWA finds itself unable to function.

In 2025 UNRWA said it has withdrawn international staff from East Jerusalem and international staff are no longer able to rotate in and out of Gaza but it was continuing humanitarian work there. It has warned the inability to contact Israeli officials means it cannot itself arrange safe aid deliveries.  

Update log 

March 2025: Added World Bank assessment on impact of 2023-25 on Gaza and the West Bank, details of Israeli UNRWA legislation that came into effect in January 2025, and moved section on aid access points into Gaza into seperate document (9990a).