Palestinian children
Palestinian children sleep in a tent in June 2010 in the Northern Gaza Strip. Estimates say that by 2020 Gaza will be uninhabitable, and the mostly young population is having trouble finding employment. Reuters

A European Commission body will be donating more than €11 million ($14.3 million) for Palestinian refugees living in Syria, Lebanon, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip, via the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees.

“[The E.C.] has been a strong supporter of humanitarian aid to Palestine refugees for over a decade,” said UNRWA Commissioner-General Filippo Grandi said when announcing the donation Friday. “Their support for emergency programming across these fields of operation could not come at a more critical time.”

According to the announcement, €6 million will be devoted to food aid in Gaza, €2 million will be earmarked for job creation in the West Bank, €1.5 million will go toward helping refugees in Syria, and €1 million will be spent on food aid in Lebanon.

The UNRWA is specifically mandated to provide aid to the about 5 million Palestinians living in various parts of the Middle East.

The E.C.’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department previously donated €8.75 million and €1.22 million euros for humanitarian relief in the occupied Palestinian territory and for the UNRWA’s work in Lebanon, respectively.