UNRWA has been with me since birth, I cannot imagine a future without it

What the report says

Al Jazeera published a first-person feature on 8 August 2026 arguing that UNRWA remains central to Palestinian life in Gaza and to the broader refugee question. The piece is written by Nour Abo Aisha and draws on her family’s experience to show how the agency has shaped identity, education, health care and daily support for generations of refugees.

According to the article, Abo Aisha says UNRWA first entered her life through vaccinations at a clinic soon after birth, and that the agency later helped her family with registration documents, school enrollment, medical care and food aid. She traces this history back to her grandfather’s displacement after the 1948 Nakba and describes UNRWA as a source of legal recognition and social services for refugee families in Gaza.

The article also links the personal account to current political pressure on the agency, citing reported calls by US officials to ban UNRWA from Gaza, plans by Israel to raid an UNRWA compound in occupied East Jerusalem, and the prospect of an Israeli court ruling against appeals related to anti-UNRWA laws. Abo Aisha argues that efforts to weaken the agency would deepen the crisis in Gaza, where large-scale displacement and destruction have left many people dependent on humanitarian systems.

More broadly, the piece presents UNRWA as both a service provider and a symbol of Palestinian refugee rights, including the right of return. That view reflects a long-standing debate over the agency’s role: supporters see it as indispensable, while critics say its mandate is politically contested.