Did UNRWA inflate number of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon? PA TV highlights contradiction

Official PA TV host: "Regarding the Palestinian refugees on Lebanese soil, there is a serious contradiction in the numbers between UNRWA's figures, which reach 580,000 people, and the numbers of the [PLO] Department of Refugee Affairs, and the numbers of the Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee from 2017, which determined that the number of refugees is 174,000…

Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee Head Ramzi Damaschkieh: "The official numbers, are different, but currently UNRWA, the Lebanese state, and all involved parties have reached the conclusion, an approximate estimate of course, that there are about 180,000 Palestinian [refugees]. This is not a mistake… UNRWA has made a digital ID for every Palestinian registered with them, and they confirm that this number is more or less correct."

[Official PA TV, Capital of Capitals – Beirut, Nov. 4, 2025]