The Workers’ Sector of the Democratic Front in Palestinian camps and gatherings in the Sour area during a meeting on 12 June 2026. (Courtesy of the Democratic Front)
BEIRUT — A Palestinian workers' group in southern Lebanon's city of Sour has called on the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) to adopt an emergency cash, health and education plan, warning that worsening economic conditions and prolonged unemployment are pushing refugee families deeper into crisis.
The appeal was issued in a statement on Friday a following a workshop held in the Burj al-Shemali refugee camp, against a backdrop of continued security tensions and deteriorating economic conditions in the city and surrounding camps. The statement said Palestinian refugee households were facing increasingly severe living conditions after months of job losses and economic disruption, with many unable to cover basic needs amid mounting financial pressures.
While noting discussions about limited financial assistance from UNRWA, the group said such measures remain insufficient, arguing that the situation reflects a deeper “income and livelihood crisis” affecting refugees in the area.
The appeal called on UNRWA to launch an emergency plan including immediate cash assistance for affected families, the full reopening of health clinics and medical services in the Sour area, exceptional measures to conclude the school year for students under current conditions, and expanded psychological and social support program.
It also rejected reliance on food parcels as a primary response, saying they fail to address the scale of the economic crisis affecting households.
The group urged UNRWA and relevant stakeholders to respond urgently to what it described as a worsening humanitarian situation in the camps, calling for measures that preserve refugees’ dignity and strengthen their resilience.
It said: “The crisis is primarily a livelihood and income crisis, resulting from months of forced unemployment and the shutdown of work and businesses that workers and professionals rely on.”
The statement added: “What is required today is an exceptional cash and relief response that matches the scale of the humanitarian disaster faced by Palestinian refugees in the Sour area.”
Earlier this year, UNRWA had announced a 20% cut in its activities in its areas of operation starting Feb. 1, sparking anger and despair among Palestinian refugees in Lebanon at the beginning of this year, and causing a series of sit-ins and protests to break out in Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon among the cuts.
