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EU announces €458 million in humanitarian aid for the war-torn Middle East
The European Commission is confirming €458 million in humanitarian aid for Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt in 2026. With major donors withdrawing from the region and international humanitarian law under unprecedented strain, the EU is sustaining life-saving assistance to millions of people.
In Syria, €210 million in EU humanitarian funding will sustain life-saving emergency response and protection across the entire country. More than a year after the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, 16.5 million people continue to require humanitarian assistance. Among them over 3.2 million returnees face destroyed infrastructure and a lack of livelihood opportunities. Funding covers food assistance, healthcare, shelter, clean water and education for children out of school.
In Palestine, €124 million will support food assistance, health, protection, shelter and education, delivered by partners operating under extremely difficult conditions. Over 3.3 million people remain in need — 2.1 million in Gaza and 1.2 million in the occupied West Bank. In Gaza, civilians face malnutrition and a collapsed healthcare system, and systematic obstruction of humanitarian aid.
In Lebanon, €100 million will deliver emergency health care, basic assistance for families who have nothing left, protection services, shelter, and education for children out of school. Needs are acute: even before the current humanitarian crisis, aggravated by the ongoing developments in Iran, over three million people required humanitarian assistance in Lebanon. In March 2026, Israeli airstrikes led to the displacement of more than 800,000 people. EU Humanitarian airbridge flights are already delivering medical and relief items on the ground.
In Jordan, a total of €15.5 million will sustain essential services such as health and protection, and meet the needs of refugees, both in and out of camps.
In Egypt, €8 million will support multi-sectoral assistance to the most vulnerable, including quality education for out-of-school children, and a regional programme on disaster preparedness. Egypt is hosting over 1.5 million refugees and asylum seekers, notably from Sudan and Gaza.
Background
Across the whole region, the delivery of humanitarian aid is heavily affected by operational and logistical constraints, limited humanitarian access, a reduced humanitarian space and continuous violations of International Humanitarian Law.
The EU 2026 humanitarian aid allocations for Palestine, Lebanon, Syria Jordan and Egypt are made under the European Commission's annual Worldwide Humanitarian Decision, implemented through country-specific Humanitarian Implementation Plans.
Funding for humanitarian issues is allocated exclusively on the basis of need, in accordance with the principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence, and in full compliance with international humanitarian law.
It is delivered through the Commission longstanding network of UN agencies, international organisations and NGOs operating on the ground.
This €458 million package includes a mobilisation of €67.5 million from the Emergency Aid Reserve, pending approval by the budgetary authority.
For more information
EU Humanitarian Aid to Palestine