EU Announces €458 Million in Humanitarian Aid for Middle East

The European Union has announced a new humanitarian aid package worth €458 million to support countries across the Middle East affected by ongoing conflicts and humanitarian crises.

The European Commission confirmed that the funding for 2026 will provide emergency assistance to Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Egypt, as the region faces mounting humanitarian needs. The announcement comes at a time when several major international donors are reducing their engagement, while pressure on international humanitarian law continues to intensify.

In Syria, the EU will allocate €210 million to support life-saving emergency response operations and protection services across the country. More than a year after the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, humanitarian needs remain severe. An estimated 16.5 million people still require assistance, including more than 3.2 million returnees facing destroyed infrastructure and limited livelihood opportunities. EU funding will support food aid, healthcare, shelter, clean water, and education for children who have been forced out of school.

For Palestine, €124 million has been allocated to provide food assistance, healthcare, protection services, shelter, and education. The aid will be delivered through humanitarian partners operating in extremely difficult conditions. More than 3.3 million people currently need humanitarian assistance, including 2.1 million in Gaza and 1.2 million in the occupied West Bank. In Gaza, civilians continue to face malnutrition, a collapsing healthcare system, and significant obstacles to the delivery of humanitarian aid.

Lebanon will receive €100 million to fund emergency healthcare, basic assistance for families who have lost their homes, protection services, shelter, and education for children who have dropped out of school. Even before the latest escalation linked to developments in Iran, more than three million people in Lebanon required humanitarian support. In March 2026, Israeli airstrikes displaced over 800,000 people. The EU’s humanitarian air bridge has already begun delivering medical and relief supplies to affected areas.

Jordan will receive €15.5 million to support essential services such as healthcare and protection programs for refugees living both inside and outside camps.

Egypt will receive €8 million in humanitarian funding aimed at supporting the most vulnerable groups through multi-sector assistance, including education programs for children who have dropped out of school and regional disaster preparedness initiatives. Egypt currently hosts more than 1.5 million refugees and asylum seekers, most of whom come from Sudan and Gaza.