Hundreds of Palestinian refugee families taking shelter in displacement camps in northern Syria continue to struggle for survival as they have been deprived of much-needed items and vital services, particularly healthcare, at a time when the novel coronavirus continues to grip the region.

The situation has been made worse by the scorching summer heat and high temperatures engulfing the poorly-equipped displacement camps.

The Syria Response Coordinators team has instructed the residents to remain cautious while using gas cylinders and electric kit and to stay vigilant while switching on stoves. They recommended that children and the elderly be kept indoors in order to avoid sunstrokes and dehydration in an area where most hospitals have been rendered out of operation.

After eleven years of conflict, Palestinian refugees in and from Syria continue to face significant humanitarian and protection needs. In the absence of a durable political settlement, intense hostilities and violence resulting in deaths and injuries, internal displacement, loss of livelihoods, decreases in the provision of public services, and extensive damage to civilian infrastructure have disrupted the lives of civilians and forced thousands to become internally displaced.

UN data indicates that as many as 120,000 Palestine refugees have fled war-stricken Syria since 2011, including 28,000 to Lebanon.

The Syrian conflict has impacted Palestine refugees inside and outside the Syrian territories. There used to be 560’000 countrywide, mainly in Aleppo, Homs, Hama, Latakia, Damascus and Deraa.

According to the UN, today, some 440,000 Palestine refugees remain in Syria, more than half of them are internally displaced, and nearly all require sustained humanitarian assistance.