The Camps

In the sections below, we take a look at how life is like in Palestinian refugee camps. Over 1.5 million Palestinians – one third of the registered Palestine refugees – live in 58 recognized refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Unfortunately, lack of appropriate funding means that most of these camps are little more than shanty towns, with rampant squalor.

Rafah Refugee Camp, Gaza

Originally home to 41,000 refugees who had fled from the fighting during the 1948 war, Rafah camp is now home to over 104,000 refugeesWith 25 school buildings and 17 working on double shifts, the camp has a total of 42 schoolsThere is just 1 health centre in the camp Established…

Khan Younis Refugee Camp, Gaza

Khan Younis camp is home to 72,000 registered refugeesThere are 25 school buildings, 22 of which run double-shifts in order to accommodate a total of 38 schoolsThere are 3 health centres in the camp Khan Younis camp lies west of the town of Khan Younis, historically a major commercial hub and…

Jabalia Refugee Camp, Gaza

Jabalia is the largest of Gaza’s 8 camps, housing 110,000 registered refugeesThere are 20 school buildings, all running on double-shifts to accommodate 40 schoolsThere is only 1 health centre in the camp Covering an area of just 1.4 square Kilometers, Jabalia camp is home to the largest number of registered…

Wavel Refugee Camp, Lebanon

More than 8,806 registered refugees2 schools, including 1 secondary school1 health centreMajority aged between 13-40 The camp was originally a French army barracks, and the original 12 buildings provided shelter to Palestinian refugees in 1948. It lies 90km east of Beirut in Beqaa Valley. In 1952, UNRWA assumed responsibility for…

Beddawi Refugee Camp, Lebanon

More than 16,500 registered refugees6 primary schools, 1 secondary school, and 1 kindergarten1 health centreMajority aged between 13-40 Established by UNRWA in 1995; located on a hill in north Lebanon, 5km north of Tripoli. All shelters have indoor water supplies. The water system, sewerage and storm water drainage systems were…