RAMALLAH, January 14, 2026 (WAFA) – The Government Operations Room for EmergencyInterventions in the Gaza Strip today presented the recovery and reconstruction plan for refugee camps in the Gaza Strip, in the presence of Ahmed Abu Holi, Member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization and Head of the Department of Refugee Affairs. This presentation comes as part of ongoing government efforts to showcase sectoral recovery plans, strengthen national coordination, and direct available resources toward fair priorities that protect refugee rights and uphold their dignity.
The plan aims to reconstruct and rehabilitate damaged refugee camps as livable residential and humanitarian spaces, while preventing efforts to target the camps or forcibly displace their residents. It seeks to preserve the unique character of the camps as a living testament to the Palestinian refugee cause and the right of return.
Abu Holi stated that the Gaza Strip is home to approximately 1.6 million Palestinian refugees, who constitute the overwhelming majority of the population. These refugees live in eight camps that have suffered widespread destruction to housing, infrastructure, and essential services, exacerbating displacement and deprivation both within and beyond the camps.
He noted that the eight camps have experienced extensive destruction at varying levels. In Rafah and Jabalia camps, destruction reached nearly 90 percent of residential units, followed by Al-Shati, Khan Younis, and Nuseirat camps, where destruction approached 75 percent. In the central area camps—Bureij, Maghazi, and Deir al-Balah—damage reached approximately 35 percent. These figures reflect the scale and systematic nature of the targeting of refugee camps.
Abu Holi emphasized that Israeli aggression has gone beyond physical destruction to systematically target the humanitarian and political existence of the camps, in an attempt to erase their identity and alter their character. He stressed that rebuilding the camps represents a clear national and political stance rejecting forced displacement and alternative resettlement schemes, while reaffirming refugees’ right of return in accordance with United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194.
In this context, Abu Holi underscored that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) is facing a systematic Israeli campaign aimed at undermining its mandate and dismantling its legal and humanitarian role as the international custodian of the refugee issue and their rights.
He affirmed that protecting UNRWA is inseparable from protecting refugee camps and safeguarding refugee rights.
He explained that the plan is guided by an overarching objective of achieving fair and sustainable recovery for refugee camps by linking emergency relief with reconstruction, improving housing conditions and basic services, strengthening social and economic resilience, and preserving the political and legal dimensions of the refugee cause. Reconstruction, he stressed, must not be separated from refugees’ inalienable national rights.
The plan includes urgent interventions such as debris removal, the provision of safer temporary shelter alternatives to tents, rehabilitation of water, sanitation, and road networks, and support for health and educational facilities within the camps. It also includes psychosocial support programs and economic empowerment initiatives for affected families.
For her part, Samah Hamad, Chair of the Government Operations Room, affirmed that the recovery and reconstruction plan for refugee camps constitutes a cornerstone of the national recovery process. She highlighted its humanitarian, rights-based, and political dimensions, which ensure that refugee camps are neither marginalized nor treated as a temporary humanitarian concern.
Hamad stressed the importance of unifying national and international efforts and strengthening partnerships with UNRWA and United Nations agencies to ensure a fair and comprehensive response that protects refugee dignity, strengthens resilience, and lays the foundation for a just and sustainable recovery in the Gaza Strip.
K.T
