Russian forces continue to attack Ukraine’s energy grid, leaving families without electricity and heating as temperatures plummet to -20° Celsius. Since 2022, the Government has established so-called “Invincibility Points” – located in tents or public buildings such as schools and libraries – where people can go to escape the cold, charge electronic devices and receive basic support. Additional initiatives have also been launched, including mobile heating points operated by the State Emergency Services and Ukraine Red Cross...
They include attacks in Odesa region on Wednesday that killed a 17-year-old boy, according to UN child rights agency UNICEF which called for an “end to attacks on civilian areas and the infrastructure children rely on.” The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that attacks on the southeastern city of Kryvyi Rih on Wednesday had recommenced on Thursday. ...
That’s according to UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, briefing journalists in New York on Thursday. Citing the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, Mr. Dujarric said humanitarian teams are continuing to support the most vulnerable families in Gaza “despite impediments” and the cumulative impact of two years of conflict between Israeli forces...
“Tents were blown away or damaged, homes collapsed under storm conditions, and personal belongings were soaked,” according to its latest update. “In several locations, entire displacement sites were flooded due to inadequate drainage and low-lying terrain.” The storms also damaged temporary learning spaces and roads used to bring much-needed supplies into Gaza, where...
Since the fragile October ceasefire began as phase one of the US-led peace plan, thousands of tents and hundreds of thousands of tarpaulins have been distributed. Yet partners estimate that over one million people – around half of Gaza’s population – still urgently need shelter support. “The needs remain immense,...
This has resulted in casualties and disruptions to aid operations over the past 24 hours, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told journalists at Headquarters, in New York. Still, efforts to deliver assistance to the most vulnerable families continue during the cold and wet winter season, although a rescue mission to reach an injured person in Gaza City was denied. Lack of...
Following two years of war, most of Gaza’s roughly two million residents are living in makeshift shelters. Humanitarians are working to deliver assistance to communities in flood-prone areas, including by scaling up distribution of winter clothes for children from 5,000 kits a day to 8,000. UN partners leading winter preparedness efforts reported that some 200 families have left shoreline communities for a new site identified by...
Briefing ambassadors, Kayoko Gotoh, Director of the Europe and Central Asia Division at the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, said 2025 has been one of the deadliest years for civilians since Russia’s full-scale invasion began nearly four years ago. Civilian casualties between January and November were 24 per cent...
For months on end, thousands of families remain without a roof over their heads, laying beneath the open sky — the stars above offering both solace and a haunting reminder of everything they have lost. Sabah, her husband Ahmad, and their seven children spent weeks sleeping in the open after...
UN Women’s Chief of Humanitarian Action Sofia Calltorp, who just returned from a visit to the enclave last week, said that women there repeatedly told her “there may be a cease-fire, but the war is not over”. “The attacks are fewer, but the killings continue,” she said. The UN aid...
Amidst escalating hostilities and continued strikes on critical infrastructure, Ukraine is once again bracing for another harsh winter. As the cold season brings heightened risks, especially for people near the frontline, displaced persons living in collective sites, and other vulnerable populations, the Winter Response Plan aims to deliver essential...
“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...
