The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) is preserving nearly 30 million historical documents and more than half a million audiovisual materials documenting the displacement, family histories and daily lives of Palestinian refugees since the 1948 Nakba.

The extensive archive provides a historical record of generations of Palestinian families, including details of their origins, forced displacement, family relationships and lives in refugee camps across the region.

According to UNRWA, the collection contains records relating to approximately six million registered Palestine refugees across its five fields of operation: the Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

The archive includes registration documents, family records, correspondence, administrative files, photographs and films covering more than seven decades of Palestinian refugee history.

Extensive audiovisual collection documents decades of refugee life

The audiovisual archive contains more than 430,000 photographic negatives, 10,000 prints, 85,000 slides, 75 films and 730 videocassettes. The materials document the establishment of refugee camps, the provision of education and healthcare, relief operations and the everyday experiences of Palestinian families.

The collection also captures major historical events, including the mass displacement of Palestinians in 1948, the 1967 war, the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon and the First and Second Intifadas.

In recognition of its historical and documentary significance, the UNRWA Photo and Film Archives were inscribed on UNESCO's Memory of the World Register in 2009.

Millions of family records digitized following Gaza archive rescue

Preserving the archive has become increasingly urgent amid the Israeli military offensive in Gaza and restrictions on UNRWA's operations in occupied East Jerusalem.

In a report published in June 2025, a UN strategic assessment confirmed that approximately 20 million archival documents had already been digitized in the early 2000s, while the remaining 10 million were digitized during the preceding year.

The operation followed the rescue of documents from Gaza and the transfer of archival materials from East Jerusalem to Amman, Jordan. UNRWA subsequently began developing a secure digital repository and processing the records to extract family trees and other historical information.

In May 2026, further details emerged about a nearly 10-month operation to safeguard millions of documents. According to UNRWA Media Adviser Adnan Abu Hasna, 10 agency employees from at least four countries participated in transporting documents from areas under bombardment in Gaza to Egypt before the archival materials were transferred to Jordan by aircraft.

Abu Hasna stressed that preserving the collection was an essential part of protecting Palestinian identity and historical heritage. He warned that destroying the archive would constitute a major loss for generations of Palestinian refugees.

Records preserve family identity and the history of displacement

UNRWA's registration records date back to a census conducted in 1950–51, when the agency registered approximately 875,000 Palestine refugees who had lost their homes and livelihoods following the 1948 Nakba.

Since then, the agency has maintained and updated family files, documenting births, marriages, deaths, family relationships and places of origin. These records now extend across as many as five generations of Palestinian families.

Beyond their administrative purpose, the documents provide an important historical resource for tracing family origins, establishing identities and documenting the circumstances of displacement.

They may also support efforts to protect refugee rights and preserve evidence relevant to discussions on return and compensation. The right of return and compensation is independently recognized in UN General Assembly Resolution 194 (III), adopted in December 1948.

The preservation initiative comes amid growing political and financial pressure on UNRWA, whose mandate and operations have faced significant restrictions, particularly in the occupied Palestinian territory.

As the displacement of Palestinians remains unresolved more than seven decades after the Nakba, the agency's archives continue to serve as a vital record of Palestinian history, family identity and the experiences of generations forced to live away from their ancestral homes. (ILKHA)