Nuseirat camp

A busy and crowded camp, Nuseirat refugee camp is currently home to more than 80,194 refugees. Like Bureij and Maghazi refugee camps, Nuseirat camp is located in in the middle of the Gaza Strip.

Nuseirat, which takes its name from a local Bedouin tribe, initially accommodated 16,000 refugees who fled from the southern districts of Palestine after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, including the coast and Be’er Sheva. Before the camp was formed, refugees lived in a former British military prison in the area.

Nusierat refugee camp. © 2016 UNRWA Photo by Rushdi Al Saraj

Blockade

The blockade on Gaza, which has lasted for more than a decade, has made life more and more difficult for nearly all refugees in the camp which is characterized by high unemployment and poverty.  Today, far fewer families can provide for themselves and a staggering proportion of the population is dependent on UNRWA’s food and cash assistance programmes. As in the other refugee camps, the water situation in Nuseirat camp is alarming in terms of both quality and quantity.

Statistics

• More than 80,194 registered refugees
• 15 school buildings, of which seven are single shift and 18 operate on double shifts, accommodating 25 schools in total
• One Food Distribution Centre shared with Bureij refugee camp
• Two Health Centres
• Two Area Relief and Social Services Offices
• One Maintenance and Sanitation Office.

Major problems

• Electricity cuts
• High unemployment and poverty
• Fishing limits imposed by Israel and collapse of fishing sector
• High population density
• Contaminated water supply
• Lack of availability of construction materials

Infrastructure & Camp Improvement

Overcrowding and a lack of living space characterize Nuseirat camp. Shelters are built in close vicinity and there is a general lack of recreational and social space. In many cases, residents have had to add extra floors to their shelters to accommodate their families, in some cases without proper design. Many live in substandard conditions.