New EU funding helps UNRWA support Palestine Refugees from Syria in Lebanon

A new €3 million contribution from the European Union will fund continued cash assistance for roughly 22,000 Palestine Refugees from Syria living in Lebanon, providing monthly transfers to help cover food, rent, medicine and other essentials. Registered beneficiaries under UNRWA’s Digital Identity Verification system will receive US$45 per household plus an additional US$20 per person, targeting families facing acute economic pressure amid legal restrictions and recent security-related displacements.

“The EU’s support provides vulnerable Palestine Refugee families from Syria with the opportunity to live with dignity despite particularly difficult circumstances,” said Branko Golubovic, EU Humanitarian Expert at the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) in Lebanon.

The cash assistance comes as Palestine Refugees from Syria in Lebanon confront entrenched poverty and limited livelihood opportunities: about 87% live in poverty and legal barriers restrict access to formal employment in professions such as medicine, engineering, law and nursing. The recent escalation of military activity in the region has further deepened humanitarian needs, displaced communities and disrupted what limited livelihoods existed.

UNRWA will channel the EU funds through its existing systems to distribute monthly cash transfers to registered households. The program complements a broader package of UNRWA services in Lebanon that includes education, healthcare and vocational training. In 2025, UNRWA reported that nearly 2,500 Palestine Refugees from Syria attended its schools, over 22,000 received cash assistance during the year, and more than 82,000 medical consultations were provided through the Agency’s 26 health centres.

• Monthly cash assistance: US$45 per household + US$20 per person for those registered with UNRWA’s Digital Identity Verification system.
• Scope: Approximately 22,000 Palestine Refugees from Syria living in Lebanon.
• Health and education footprint: 26 health centres, nearly 2,500 school attendees in 2025, and 82,000+ consultations in 2025.
• Skills and livelihoods: EU support also funds vocational training, including the Siblin Training Centre (864 trainees in 2024/2025) and has helped create more than 1,800 short-term work opportunities since 2022.

“The EU’s support provides a critical lifeline for Palestine Refugees from Syria who remain in Lebanon and continue to face immense hardship,” said Dorothee Klaus, Director of UNRWA Affairs in Lebanon. “Until conditions allow for a safe and dignified return to Syria, the cash assistance enables families to meet basic livelihood needs in increasingly difficult circumstances.”

Beyond immediate relief, EU funding has a longer-term orientation inside Lebanon: it supports education, healthcare, relief and social services as well as protection and emergency assistance across UNRWA’s fields of operation. In Lebanon specifically, EU-backed programmes have invested in vocational training — the Siblin Training Centre enrolled 864 young people in the 2024/2025 academic year — and have generated short-term employment pathways for youth, with more than 1,800 opportunities created since 2022.

Looking ahead, the new €3 million tranche underscores the EU’s continued financial partnership with UNRWA and signals a persistent focus on protecting vulnerable displaced populations in Lebanon while durable solutions remain elusive. The cash assistance is framed as an urgent, stopgap measure to preserve dignity and meet basic needs as families await conditions conducive to safe and voluntary return to Syria or improved access to livelihoods inside Lebanon.