The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says it is alarmed by the impact of hostilities in Ukraine on hospitals and health workers, amid shelling of areas along the front lines. According to a UN spokesman, a hospital in the city of Kherson was damaged today after being hit by shelling.
Nearly ten years of armed conflict in Yemen have caused tens of thousands of civilian casualties and forced millions to flee their homes, making Yemen one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises. More than half of the country's population - 19.5 million people - are in need of humanitarian assistance and protection in 2025, with Yemen's most vulnerable and marginalized groups, including women and girls, at greatest risk. More than 11,500 children have been killed or maimed since the beginning of the conflict, and thousands more have been recruited as child soldiers.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is warning that thousands of civilians remain trapped in heavy fighting in the Sudanese town of El Fasher, where the Saudi Hospital, the only remaining hospital, has come under repeated attack and hospital staff are running out of medical supplies. In a statement Thursday, the ICRC said "to this day" it has been unable to get humanitarian aid into the town.
The United Nations, together with the Government of Lebanon, on Tuesday launched a US$371.4 million extension of the Lebanon Flash Appeal to provide life-saving assistance to civilians affected by the recent conflict and the ongoing humanitarian crisis. The appeal targets one million Lebanese, Syrians, Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, Palestinian refugees from Syria, and migrants for an additional three months.
The IPC Famine Review Committee (FRC) issued an alert on Friday warning that famine is likely imminent in areas of the northern Gaza Strip, while the humanitarian situation throughout the territory is extremely grave and rapidly deteriorating. Meanwhile, a report by the United Nations Human Rights Office (OHCHR) has accused the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) of committing serious violations of international law in Gaza, many of which may amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity.
Two years after launching a war against the Gaza Strip, Israel signed a ceasefire and hostage release agreement with the armed group Hamas. The agreement aims to pause hostilities in the devastated territory and raise hope for an end to the brutal conflict marked by widespread atrocities perpetrated by Israeli officials. More than 237,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed, injured, or maimed in Israeli attacks.
More than a year after the start of the war in Sudan, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said Friday it remains extremely concerned about shocking levels of violence and devastating risks as many areas across the country remain beyond the reach of aid organizations. Among these areas is Sudan's North Darfur state, where intensifying clashes between the warring parties are preventing aid deliveries to the wider Darfur region.
Top United Nations officials on Monday called for urgent global action to save Palestinians in Gaza, highlighting once again the catastrophic humanitarian crisis. For more than a month, Gaza has been cut off from commercial and humanitarian supplies, leaving more than 2.1 million people trapped, bombed and starving. Meanwhile, Israeli attacks on civilians, including aid workers, journalists, UN personnel, hospitals and ambulances, continue with impunity.
Nearly half a billion children - more than one in six of the world's children - now live in areas affected by war and conflict, with the world experiencing the highest number of armed conflicts since World War II, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said in an analysis released Saturday. In 2024, it is estimated that more children than ever before will either live in conflict zones or be forcibly displaced by conflict and violence.
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) says it has succeeded in delivering desperately needed food and nutritional supplies to Sudan's Darfur region, the first WFP convoys to reach the war-torn region in months. But the UN food agency warned Friday that the hunger catastrophe in the country will only worsen unless the people of Sudan receive a steady flow of aid through all possible humanitarian corridors - from neighboring countries and across battle lines.
Families in Sudan are eating grass to survive in an escalating hunger crisis, with famine-level malnutrition spreading across half of Sudan's 18 states, the international humanitarian organization Save the Children warned on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the United Nations reports that fighting continues to rage in North Darfur, West Darfur, Khartoum, North Kordofan and Al Jazira states, despite repeated calls for the warring parties to cease fighting, ensure the protection of civilians and facilitate humanitarian access.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday condemned the issuance of an executive order by the United States president that seeks to impose sanctions on its officials and " harm its independent and impartial judicial work." The ICC said it stands firmly by its staff and pledges to continue to bring justice and hope to millions of innocent victims of atrocities across the world. The Court in The Hague said it will do so "in all situations before it" and "in the sole interest of human dignity."
The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) warned on Tuesday that over 165,000 people have fled increasing tensions and conflict in South Sudan in the past three months, seeking safety both within the country and across borders, thereby deepening an already dire humanitarian situation across the region. With more than 2.3 million South Sudanese living as refugees in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Sudan, South Sudan remains one of the largest displacement crises in Africa.
Ceasefire talks seeking to end Sudan's 16-month civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) began in Geneva on Wednesday, but neither warring side entered the negotiating room. The talks, which also aim to address the world's largest humanitarian crisis, took place without the presence of the rival military factions.
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has announced Wednesday that the number of people displaced by war, persecution, violence and human rights violations globally is estimated at more than 114 million at the end of September. According to a new UNHCR report, the main drivers of forced displacement in the first half of 2023 were: war in Ukraine and conflicts in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Myanmar; a combination of drought, floods and insecurity in Somalia; and a prolonged humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.
The United Nations says more than 100,000 people have been displaced in Lebanon following a large-scale military operation launched by Israel against its northern neighbor this week. Lebanese health officials say nearly 700 people, including more than 50 children, at least 94 women and two UNHCR workers, have been killed and more than 2,000 injured by Israeli airstrikes since Monday.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Thursday issued new provisional measures for Israel as the catastrophic humanitarian situation in bombarded and besieged Gaza continues to deteriorate, and famine is immanent. The legally binding order compels Israel to take "all necessary and effective measures to ensure, without delay" to send in "urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance", including food, water, shelter, fuel and medical supplies.
A wave of deadly strikes hit several cities throughout Ukraine on Monday morning, killing and injuring scores of civilians, including children. Kyiv experienced several attacks, which impacted many residential homes. The children's hospital in the center of the city was severely damaged as children were being treated. Today's attacks also struck one of the country's main health facilities for women in Kyiv, as well as key energy infrastructure.
Food is slowly returning to the Gaza Strip amid "apocalyptic scenes", but UN humanitarian officials said on Tuesday that supplies are still desperately inadequate. They issued fresh calls for wider access and more border crossings to be opened, as well as continued financial support. Since the resumption of general food distributions on October 13, nearly half of Gaza's population has received food parcels.
In a rare and strongly worded statement released Friday, 30 donors, including the European Commission, condemned attacks on civilians, particularly the brutal attack on a humanitarian convoy in Sudan's North Darfur State earlier this week. Five humanitarian workers were killed, and several others were injured in the assault. At least four of the fifteen trucks in the convoy were destroyed, and five more vehicles were partially damaged.
