The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has announced that generous Zakat and Sadaqah donations from more than 47,000 global donors reached 280,000 Palestine Refugees in 2025. The agency disclosed that the contributions exceeded $23 million. It also provided a critical lifeline of cash and food assistance, and other supports.
Kuwait supports UNRWA with $2 million donations for Zakat
UNRWA in a post on X noted that this support in 2025 complements state-level contributions. This included a recent $2 million donation from the State of Kuwait to UNRWA’s core programs.
Kuwait’s Ambassador to Jordan, Hamad Al-Merri, presented the annual Kuwaiti grant to Tamara Al-Rifai, UNRWA’s Director of External Relations and Media, in Amman on Thursday. Ambassador Al-Merri told KUNA that the financial support aims to boost the agency’s activities and programs, reaffirming that Kuwait recognises UNRWA’s significant role.
In a video testimony, one beneficiary expressed her gratitude.
“Praise be to Allah. Allah has provided for me so I can buy for myself and the girls what we need,” the beneficiary said.
UNRWA highlighted that the donations in the form of Zakat and Sadaqah were crucial. It also enabled them to continue serving as an essential daily lifeline for vulnerable Palestinian refugees.
Agency distributes 100 percent of Zakat for Palestinian refugees
The agency directs its Zakat Programme to preserve the dignity of the neediest refugees in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. This also included the West Bank and East Jerusalem, particularly during Ramadan and throughout the year.
The agency says it follows a strict, transparent policy, distributing 100 per cent of Zakat funds directly to beneficiaries without administrative deductions.
Founded in 1949, UNRWA secures basic needs for some 5.7 million Palestinian refugees. Also, 40 percent of them live in Jordan, with the rest in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria.
For 75 years, the agency has provided essential services through its doctors, teachers, and relief workers. In current times of war, families across the region increasingly depend on UNRWA for food, water, shelter, cash, emergency health, and education services.
Findings by Charity Journal reveal that in Gaza, where humanitarian needs continue to escalate, the entire population now relies on external aid.
In a related development, the Global Sumud Flotilla has announced what it called the largest coordinated humanitarian intervention for Palestine in history. The coalition pledged to directly challenge the ongoing siege of Gaza through a massive, nonviolent mobilisation of people and aid.
Similarly, a coalition of eight Arab and Islamic nations has issued a forceful condemnation of Israel’s repeated Gaza ceasefire violations. The concurrent crisis deepens for Palestinian refugees in occupied East Jerusalem following the targeted disruption of vital UN agency services.
