The UN General Assembly creates UNRWA — Key Events — Levant

What happened

General Assembly Resolution 302 (IV) establishes the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, which begins operations in 1950 in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

A temporary agency became the main provider of schools, clinics and relief for Palestinian refugees across the module's geography, including the camps of Gaza, the northern West Bank and Lebanon. That is why Israel's 2024 legislation against it, the 2025 ICJ opinion on Israel's obligations towards it, and its funding are system questions rather than administrative ones.

Confidence: High

When8 Dec 1949 (operations from May 1950)

KindHumanitarian · Diplomatic

Confidence: High Sources: Established historical record · UNRWA situation reports and statements ↗ Methodology Corrections

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Connected records

1 record that this event names, or that name it — every one an explicit reference in a published record, nothing inferred from subject matter.

Actors1

Actor records this event names.

UNRWA

Where this fits

This is one entry in the Levant timeline. The full Key Events surface carries every dated turning point with its filters and its essential subset, and this event in place shows what came before and after it. How Vigil grades, dates and sources its claims is set out in the methodology.