Humanitarian News

Israeli “aggressive operation” in Hebron, a city in the West Bank, raise serious concerns of ethnic cleansing, Volker Türk, the United Nations human rights chief, warned on Monday. As the number of Palestinians forced from their homes surpassed 3,000 on the eve of Israeli elections, Türk underscored that collective punishment constitutes a grave violation of international law.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported on Friday that additional aid is continuing to arrive in northern Ethiopia. Food assistance is reaching tens of thousands of people affected by the conflict and the impacts of El Niño across the northern regions. However, the ongoing response is not keeping up with the growing humanitarian needs, making additional resources and sustained access essential.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Friday that armed violence continues to displace people in Haiti. More than 10,000 people have fled their homes in the Artibonite and West departments in recent days. At the same time, funding shortfalls continue to hinder the work of humanitarian organizations.

Talks to stop the fighting in Sudan and alleviate the resulting humanitarian crisis continued Wednesday in Geneva, where nearly two dozen countries met to discuss a path to a ceasefire and a transition to a peaceful governance system that represents all Sudanese people. Although international engagement on Sudan is gaining momentum, a clear commitment from the warring parties to end the fighting is still lacking.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) teamed up on Wednesday to issue an urgent appeal for immediate assistance to communities already impacted by the strongest El Niño on record. They warned that this climate phenomenon could trigger humanitarian disasters across four continents.

More than 250,000 people have now fled renewed fighting in Yemen, the United Nations said Tuesday, expressing particular concern for those sheltering in the southwestern city of Taiz and its surrounding governorate, where access is "essentially blocked." This development follows the resumption of clashes last month between Houthi fighters and the internationally recognized government based in Aden.

Nearly 19.2 million people in Afghanistan are projected to experience acute food insecurity during the lean season (November 2026 to April 2027), according to a warning issued on Thursday by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the UN World Food Programme (WFP), who cited the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis. This is an increase from 15.9 million people in September–October 2026.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Wednesday that the escalating conflict in Yemen has cut off life-saving assistance to 800,000 people ― a situation that could rapidly spiral into a humanitarian catastrophe. Shifting frontlines, blocked roads, and growing insecurity severely restrict humanitarian access in the city of Taiz and other areas affected by the conflict.

After almost two decades of progress, global hunger is rising again, driven by wars, climate shocks, and economic crises, according to the 2026 Global Hunger Index (GHI), released on Wednesday. The report reveals that hunger has worsened in 32 countries and that 57 countries are on track to miss even low targets for hunger by 2030.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) sounded again the alarm on Tuesday, warning that the intensifying insecurity in Ituri Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, DR Congo) is endangering displaced families and hindering humanitarian operations amidst an already dire humanitarian crisis and the ongoing Ebola outbreak.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) issued an alert on Monday, warning of the rapidly deteriorating situation in Sudan's Darfur and Kordofan regions. The risk of famine is growing due to conflict, displacement, drought, and the critical underfunding of humanitarian response efforts. New evidence published by the IPC points to a rapid rise in acute malnutrition across much of Darfur, raising further concerns about the survival of children and other vulnerable groups.

A humanitarian food convoy, the first since the recent escalation of hostilities, reached Ethiopia’s Tigray region on Thursday. The convoy delivered critical nutritional supplies amid continued hostilities driving new displacement and humanitarian needs. Four World Food Programme (WFP) trucks carrying 90 metric tons of nutritional supplies for the treatment of acute malnutrition arrived in Mekelle, the capital of Tigray.

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) expressed increased concern on Friday about the deepening displacement crisis in the Central Sahel. Nearly 4 million people have been uprooted across Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, including over 818,000 refugees and asylum seekers, a figure that is roughly twice the number recorded six years ago.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that deadly attacks continue to take a devastating toll on Ukrainian civilians, damaging homes, public transportation, and energy infrastructure across the country. Between Wednesday and Thursday morning, nearly 50 civilians were killed, including 6 children, and 170 others were injured, according to Ukrainian authorities.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) expressed alarm on Monday over the continued deadly violence in Sudan, including attacks against humanitarian operations, alongside rising displacement and worsening food insecurity. Meanwhile, a coalition of international aid organizations has called for urgent protection of the nation's upcoming harvest, as Sudan enters a critical period to prevent another catastrophic hunger crisis.

The humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders, MSF) warns that Israel is "progressively asphyxiating Gaza" through a systematic campaign that is dismantling the essential conditions for human survival. As the livable space shrinks, the means of survival are being destroyed by continued violence, the deliberate blockade of essential supplies, and the destruction of healthcare and vital infrastructure.

The United Nations allocated US$160 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) on Friday to support life-saving assistance in 12 of the world’s most underfunded humanitarian crises, spanning Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. This allocation is part of a broader effort to assist 87 million people facing the most severe humanitarian crises this year.

Humanitarian organizations are warning that the increased use of drones and airstrikes in northern Ethiopia is endangering civilians, critical infrastructure, and humanitarian operations. They are closely monitoring the rapidly evolving situation in the Tigray, Amhara, and Afar regions as large-scale conflict between the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) has resumed.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) expressed alarm on Wednesday over the recent surge in gang violence in the Artibonite Department in Haiti. According to local authorities, at least 11 people were killed and homes were set on fire in the commune of Gros-Morne on Monday. Residents fled to surrounding neighborhoods and the commune of Gonaïves to seek safety.

United Nations human rights chief Volker Türk on Tuesday deplored military airstrikes that reportedly killed at least 50 people, including vendors, customers, transport workers, and other civilians, among them children and women, at a market in Myanmar’s northwestern Rakhine State. The attack in Kyauktaw came just hours before Malaysia reportedly deported approximately 1,500 Myanmar nationals back to the war-torn country.

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is warning that continued severe funding cuts are pushing refugee support and protection structures towards breaking point in the world’s main displacement situations. According to a UNHCR report published on Tuesday, nearly 8.3 million refugees and other forcibly displaced and stateless people are on the brink of losing access to crucial assistance.

The fragile peace in northern Ethiopia has collapsed into renewed violence, as the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) has reportedly launched a major offensive, seizing control of critical infrastructure and raising concerns about a potential resumption of a large-scale civil war in the north. The armed group is reportedly engaged in fierce fighting with Ethiopian federal government forces across several locations.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that escalating violence in eastern DRC continues to displace and endanger civilians. This surge in conflict is unfolding against the backdrop of the largest Ebola outbreak ever recorded in the country, as well as other health and humanitarian emergencies nationwide.

According to new food security data released on Wednesday, millions of people across Somalia continue to face high levels of hunger, and acute malnutrition among children is set to worsen over the coming months. United Nations agencies and the Somali government are warning that funding shortages and flooding associated with the anticipated El Niño are expected to worsen the situation from October to December 2026.

The United Nations’ top humanitarian official issued an urgent call to the international community on Monday, demanding swift diplomatic intervention and increased financial commitments to bridge the widening gap in life-saving aid for the millions of people desperately in need. He also urged stronger diplomacy to defend international humanitarian law.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that, as fighting in Yemen continues and the toll on civilians rises, relief efforts are struggling to keep up with the growing needs and supplies are running low. Although the UN and its partners are ramping up support for displaced families and those in need, the relief response is facing ongoing funding shortages and access limitations.

The nutritional situation for hundreds of thousands of children continues to deteriorate across Haiti, while unrelenting violence by armed groups threatens to worsen conditions. According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and the World Food Programme (WFP), more than 250,000 children under five are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition between June 2026 and May 2027.

Since December 2024, more than 3.8 million Syrians have voluntarily returned home after the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad's government, marking the largest wave of returns in Syria in decades. However, millions of people remain displaced, and insecurity, explosive remnants of war, rising costs, and severe humanitarian funding gaps continue to threaten the country's fragile recovery.

The deadly Ebola virus outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, DR Congo) continues to spread across the vast country, despite some success in containing it. Aid officials renewed their call for international support on Tuesday to help responders on the ground. While there has been progress in some places, aid agencies warn that cases continue to rise exponentially in other locations.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is warning that ongoing hostilities in Yemen are forcing people to flee their homes, causing civilian casualties and putting already strained humanitarian operations under increasing pressure. According to OCHA, around 125,000 people had been displaced by renewed fighting as of Monday.

With severe shelter shortages and heightened risks from ongoing fighting and heavy rains continuing to plague hundreds of thousands of displaced people across Sudan, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) warned on Monday that Sudan’s emergency relief supply via the Common Humanitarian Pipeline could collapse within weeks.  This warning comes amid ongoing drone strikes and other hostilities that endanger civilians and force them from their homes in the regions of Darfur, Kordofan, as well as Blue Nile State.

After months of hostilities, many families across Lebanon are returning to find their homes damaged and their access to healthcare and other essential services disrupted. Many have also lost their sources of income. For others, continued insecurity and limited access to basic services make returning impossible. Meanwhile, Israeli attacks continue to cause destruction and damage civilian infrastructure in the south.

The United Nations Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan expressed deep concern on Thursday following its latest visit to the country, emphasizing that renewed violence, political tensions, shrinking civic space, entrenched corruption, and persistent impunity continue to endanger civilians and the country's political transition. The Commission warned that the window to prevent further deterioration is narrowing.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that an escalation in fighting is devastating communities in Yemen that are already struggling to survive after more than a decade of conflict. According to humanitarian agencies, approximately 34,000 people have been displaced in the governorates of Taiz and Al-Hodeidah since Thursday, when hostilities escalated. Civilians are reportedly among those killed and injured as clashes intensify.

Amid ongoing Israeli airstrikes and scarce resources, a growing number of women-headed households in war-torn Gaza face “impossible decisions” every day, UN humanitarian officials said on Tuesday. According to a new analysis from UN Women, nearly one in four households in Gaza is headed by a woman, amounting to an estimated 86,290 families. This includes widows and women whose husbands are missing, detained, severely injured, forcibly disappeared, or whose fate remains unknown.

Volker Türk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, delivered a sobering message to the 63rd session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva on Monday. He described the current global situation as an "age of extremes," characterized by intensifying warfare, "painful polarization," climate instability, and the swift and often unregulated growth of artificial intelligence.

The UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan released a new report on Thursday warning that foreign recruitment and external support networks are fueling the war in Sudan, strengthening the military capabilities of the country’s warring parties and enabling increasingly sophisticated military operations with devastating consequences for civilians.

El Niño has become firmly established and will intensify in the coming months, significantly impacting rainfall and temperature patterns, as well as increasing the risk of floods, droughts, and extreme heat, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) confirmed on Thursday. New WMO forecasts show nearly a 100 percent likelihood that the phenomenon will persist through February 2027.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported on Wednesday that attacks across Ukraine over the past two days have caused significant civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure, including in large urban centers such as Kyiv and Odesa, which lie farther from the front line. These attacks follow a weekend that saw scores of civilian casualties.

The United Nations is sounding the alarm over the rapidly escalating Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), warning that the virus is spreading at an unprecedented rate in a region already plagued by conflict, displacement, and acute hunger. The country's health authorities have reported 6,100 confirmed cases of Ebola and 2,950 related deaths, resulting in a case fatality ratio of 48 percent.

Critical food systems — and the lives and livelihoods they sustain — are under attack across the world, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres reminded the Security Council on Tuesday. He urged the UN’s most powerful body to end the cycle of conflict and hunger by taking action "when the warning lights are flashing" — from Gaza and Haiti to Myanmar, Sudan, Ukraine, and beyond.

A new report prepared by the United Nations Human Rights Office (OHCHR) reveals that the human rights situation in Myanmar, particularly for minority communities, has plummeted to a new low, citing the brutal abuse of the Rohingya population and the devastating impact of illicit economies. Released on Tuesday, the report details how unrelenting violence and a conflict economy expose civilian populations to untold misery.

The United Nations’ relief chief issued a scathing rebuke to the international community on Monday, warning that the humanitarian catastrophe in Sudan is being fueled by a global "lack of action" despite a clear understanding of the scale of the crisis. An unprecedented 33.7 million people, including more than 20 million children, currently require assistance and protection as a result of the war, which began more than three years ago.

Ten days after the deadly earthquake struck Colombia, the United Nations and its partners launched their humanitarian response appeal on Friday. According to Colombian authorities, at least 319 people have been killed and more than 280,000 people have been affected overall. The 7.4-magnitude earthquake destroyed over 31,000 homes and damaged thousands of educational, community, and health facilities.