Tom Fletcher was speaking at the annual stock-take of his sector known as the ECOSOC Humanitarian Affairs Segment, which brings together UN Member States and organizations, humanitarian and development partners, as well as the private sector and affected communities. He said this year’s theme – renew global solidarity for humanity...
The humanitarian network is currently at a standstill because the internet shut down earlier this week after the last fibre cable route serving central and southern areas was cut during heavy fighting. “As the outage continues, partners are unable to communicate or coordinate response activities, and people in need remain...
UNICEF’s Rosalia Bollen, who’s on the ground there, said that hundreds of children had been killed and injured – some with severe burns, shrapnel lodged in their bodies, fractures and amputations. “Even on 18 March with that very heavy, intense bombing, children still kept hope because they thought maybe it’s...
According to local health authorities in Gaza, 830 people were killed between 18-23 March, including 174 women and 322 children. A further 1,787 were injured. “The acts of war that we see bear the hallmarks of atrocity crimes,” said Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN aid coordination office, OCHA. “Hundreds of...
OCHA cited Gaza’s Ministry of Health which stressed that oxygen supplies are critically needed to keep emergency, surgical and intensive care services running at hospitals, including Al Shifa and Al Rantisi hospitals in Gaza City. “Health partners are engaging with the authorities to bring in generators, spare parts and equipment...
“The health system is ruined. Malnutrition is rising. The risk of famine persists,” said Dr Hanan Balkhy, the UN World Health Organization (WHO)’s Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean. “We are ready to scale up our response – but we urgently need systematic and sustained access to the population across...
The development follows the pause announced to billions of dollars of funding on 24 January by the US administration affecting “nearly all US foreign aid programmes, pending a 90-day review”, said Pio Smith from the UN’s sexual reproductive health agency, UNFPA, briefing journalists in Geneva. ‘Unwavering commitment’ to serve people...
Israeli authorities continue to deny UN-led efforts to reach Palestinians with vital aid, the agency said, noting that only seven out of 22 UN planned humanitarian movements on Sunday were facilitated. Of this number, six were denied outright, five were impeded, and four were cancelled due to security and logistical...
Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini made the appeal in a statement posted on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter. He noted that 15 months after the war began in Gaza, “horrors continue unabated under the world’s watch”. 258 UNRWA staff killed Citing latest information from his teams, Mr. Lazzarini said that 258...
In a new report, the UN human rights office (OHCHR) has detailed the catastrophic humanitarian situation unfolding in El Fasher, the capital of Sudan’s North Darfur state. The city has been under siege for seven months by fighters from the powerful militia known as the RSF, which has been battling...
“We think that we will need another day tomorrow to actually wrap-up the central zone completely,” said Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, WHO Representative for the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). Speaking from Gaza, he explained that day three of the campaign was continuing during the eight-hour daily pauses agreed by the Israeli...
The latest warnings from UN relief agency for Palestinians UNRWA and the UN World Food Programme, WFP, highlighted the threat of starvation and disease in heavily built-up areas, where tens of thousands of people have fled intense bombing campaigns in the enclave’s north and centre. Skipping meals “Everyone in Gaza...