Middle East

UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed grave concern on Wednesday over the human toll resulting from the intensified hostilities in Gaza.  

UN humanitarians and partners on Tuesday expressed deep shock at the killing of 15 colleagues on duty in southern Gaza by Israeli forces whose remains were recovered on Sunday from a shallow grave after a week-long rescue operation, noting that one worker is still missing.

The United Nations on Tuesday expressed deep concern over the latest escalation of violence in Lebanon, despite the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, following an Israeli airstrike in southern Beirut that reportedly killed four people – including a woman – and injured several others.

The UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher on Monday called for “justice and answers” after Israeli forces killed eight Palestinian medics, six civil defence first responders and a UN staff member in an attack in southern Gaza.

Lifesaving supplies in Gaza continue to run dangerously low, nearly four weeks into the total aid blockade and deadly bombardment of the enclave by Israel, UN humanitarians said on Friday.

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) issued a warning on Thursday over the terrible impact on youngsters of renewed Israeli bombardment and the total aid blockade.

It has now been three and a half weeks since Israel imposed a complete blockade on all aid into Gaza, despite daily efforts by UN humanitarians to secure fresh access, they said in an update from the shattered enclave.

Marking a decade of war in Yemen, Othman Belbeisi, Regional Director for Middle East and North Africa at the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM), highlights the resilience of its people, the deepening humanitarian crisis, and the urgent need for global action.

In Yemen, a decade of conflict has proved catastrophic for the country’s children living under the threat of airstrikes and staggeringly high malnutrition rates, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.

UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen briefed the Security Council on Tuesday, pointing to the devastating violence on the coast earlier this month, which marked a grim new chapter in Syria’s fragile transition to a lasting peace.

The UN Secretary-General on Monday took the “difficult decision” to reduce the aid operation inside the Gaza Strip following the resumption of deadly Israeli airstrikes – but pledged that “the UN is not leaving” the enclave.

The tight Israeli blockade of humanitarian supplies is pushing Gaza closer to an acute hunger crisis, Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA), said on Sunday.

Israel’s renewed bombing campaign and intensifying ground operation in Gaza are reversing gains achieved during the brief ceasefire, UN humanitarians inside the devastated enclave said on Friday.

The Israel-Palestine conflict is descending further into violence, with mounting civilian casualties in the West Bank and a deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the UN’s top envoy for the region warned on Friday.

The legacy of the Syrian conflict, which saw the overthrow of the Assad regime in December last year, is that 16.5 million people are in dire need of assistance, making it one of the largest humanitarian crises globally, a senior UN humanitarian said on Thursday.