Ireland Announces €42 Million in Aid for Palestine in 2026

Ireland will provide €42 million in humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people in 2026, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Helen McEntee TD has announced. The funding represents an increase from the €36 million provided in 2025 and includes €20 million in core support for UNRWA.

Minister McEntee made the announcement while visiting the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza during a visit to the region. The minister arrived in Egypt on Monday and will tomorrow visit Jordan for political engagements and to observe partner organisations working with Palestinian and Syrian refugees.

The €42 million package includes €20 million to UNRWA (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency) and €2 million to the International Federation of the Red Cross to support the work of the Egyptian and Palestinian Red Crescent Societies. The remaining funds will be allocated throughout 2026 in response to needs. This brings Ireland's total support for Palestinians to €144 million by the end of 2026, covering the period since January 2023.

Minister McEntee said:

"The humanitarian and human rights situation across Gaza and the West Bank remains incredibly stark. This funding from Ireland will help to provide food, shelter, water, sanitation, health and education for people across Palestine. It will be primarily delivered through our UN partners, particularly UNRWA."

She continued:

"While there have been some improvements in the supply of aid into Gaza since the ceasefire, the levels of need are still enormous. Children are dying from malnutrition, while hundreds of thousands of people are living in tents or damaged buildings at risk of collapse. Overcrowding, poor weather conditions and a lack of access to clean water mean the threat of disease outbreak is very high."

Addressing the situation in the West Bank, Minister McEntee highlighted ongoing challenges including house demolitions, military incursions, settler violence and movement restrictions creating "unacceptable risks and challenges to daily life". She described the situation as critical and requiring an urgent political and humanitarian response.

Minister McEntee praised UNRWA's continued work despite enormous outside pressure, stating that Ireland's support remains unwavering and that UNRWA must be central to any effort responding to urgent Palestinian needs. She reiterated her condemnation, made with six fellow European Foreign Ministers, of Israel's legislation to cut water, electricity and communications to UNRWA facilities, emphasising that UNRWA's operations must be facilitated in line with International Court of Justice findings.

Minister of State for International Development and Diaspora Neale Richmond said:

"Today's funding will bring Ireland's support to the people in Palestine since January 2023 to €144 million by end 2026. This funding is helping to provide basic services that people in Gaza and the West Bank are being denied through conflict and violations of their human rights.

The humanitarian crisis facing people in Gaza requires an urgent and ongoing response, while the situation in the West Bank continues to worsen. Through our support for UNRWA and the wider UN system, Ireland will fund vital services, including healthcare and education, for the Palestinian people. It is vital that other international donors step up and provide support that is so desperately needed."