UNRWA funding cuts deepen hardship for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon

Beirut, Lebanon – Doumoua al-Baitan sat on the roof of a building in Beirut’s Palestinian refugee camp of Bourj el-Barajneh as the sun set. Like many Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, al-Baitan was born and raised in this camp. For decades, Palestinians in Lebanon have been supported by the UN branch focused on Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.

But funding cuts have impeded UNRWA’s ability to provide crucial aid, particularly since the Trump administration’s decision in February 2025 to maintain a US funding freeze imposed the previous year. Between the funding cuts and funding shortfalls, UNRWA has had to close down or reduce hours of schools, healthcare centres, and clinics in Lebanon’s Palestinian refugee camps. Palestinians told Al Jazeera that in addition to there being less work to go around and less medical support, children are being crammed into overcrowded classrooms, and the use and sale of illegal drugs has become more prevalent.

“My kids cannot retain what they are taught in class,” al-Baitan said, citing overcrowding.