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LAST UPDATE | 13 Jan
IRELAND HAS COMMITTED to providing €42 million in funding towards various support agencies working to help Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
The announcement came as Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee arrived at aid sites on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing to observe humanitarian operations there this afternoon.
The funding will include €20 million towards the core funding of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNWRA) and €2 million towards the Egypt and Palestinian Red Crescent societies.
Other funds will be allocated on a case-by-case basis throughout 2026.
McEntee is also set to visit Amman in Jordan as part of her trip. She is speaking to key players in the region at a crucial time as the situations in Israel and Palestine and in Iran continue to unfold at a rapid pace.
She said that the humanitarian and human rights situations across Gaza and the West Bank are still incredibly stark.
“This funding from Ireland will help to provide food, shelter, water, sanitation, health and education for people across Palestine,” McEntee said.
She noted that while there have been some improvements in aid entry into Gaza since a ceasefire was announced (which has been violated on multiple occasions by Israel) the level of need is 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,” McEntee said.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee is visiting the Egyptian Red Crescent aid centre in Rafah, she was shown items Israeli authorities have rejected from entering Gaza, including wheelchairs and oxygen canisters. pic.twitter.com/34oiq0PSvl
— Eimer McAuley (@eimer_mcauley) January 13, 2026
She added that in the West Bank there has been a spike in settler violence and restrictions that limit the movement of Palestinian communities there.
McEntee said that house demolitions and military incursions in Palestinian localities are just some of the intrusions into people’s daily lives.
She also repeated her condemnation of Israel’s decision to further legislation to cut water, electricity and communications to UNWRA facilities.
“UNRWA’s operations must be facilitated in line with the findings of the International Court of Justice,” the Minister said.
Today’s pledged money brings the total of Ireland’s monetary support for Palestinians to €144 million (by the year end). Over €36 million was provided last year to support the work of the United Nations and other NGOs active in the region.
Yesterday McEntee had a bilateral meeting in Cairo with the Egyptian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Badr Abdelatty.
He expressed his appreciation for Ireland’s stance on issues relating to Gaza, and to the right of Palestinian peoples to self-determination.
Abdelatty said that the peace process in Gaza needs to move to phase two, which is to include the announcement of a ‘Board for Peace’ made up of countries and banks that will support the reconstruction and administration of Gaza.
Though Egypt as a neighbouring state and major player in the region is expected to have a big part in the board to be unveiled this week, Abdelatty said that Egypt has been given no additional information about its configuration or its mandate.
He stressed also the importance of aid entry into Gaza, and the need to establish a two-way system in and out of the Rafah crossing, which would allow people to come to Egypt for medical treatment and then return home.
He added that in light of tough weather conditions in Gaza at present, more caravans and aid need to be able to enter so that the international community can provide “the bare minimum of decent shelter for our Palestinian brothers”.
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