Middle East

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said on Wednesday that escalating drone activity and nearby explosions involving suspected Hezbollah drones and Israeli forces are endangering its personnel and threatening already fragile stability in southern Lebanon.

Millions of Syrians are at growing risk of hunger after severe funding shortages forced the UN World Food Programme (WFP) to halve emergency food assistance, cutting support for hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people across the country.

Israeli military operations and surging settler attacks in the occupied West Bank are killing and maiming a growing number of Palestinian children, while in Gaza tens of thousands with life-changing injuries lack access to treatment and rehabilitation, UN agencies warned on Tuesday.

As the Strait of Hormuz crisis deepens and tensions between Iran and the United States remain unresolved, oil prices rose again early Monday, prompting the UN Secretary-General to call for a peaceful resolution and warn of the widening fallout across Africa and beyond.

The humanitarian situation in Lebanon continues to deteriorate despite the ceasefire announced last month with Israel, the United Nations said on Monday.

The fragile ceasefire in Lebanon hasn’t prevented “ongoing killing and displacement”, with villages in the south of the country rendered completely unrecognizable after Israeli strikes, aid teams reported on Friday.

An Israeli airstrike overnight on the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut has sparked a new wave of displacement among civilians already impacted by months of conflict, the United Nations said on Thursday.

The UN human rights office on Wednesday called on Israel to immediately release two members of the Global Sumud Flotilla detained in international waters, warning that solidarity with Palestinians and attempts to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza “is not a crime.”

As the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz continues, the United Nations reiterates its commitment to support efforts towards peace, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said on Wednesday during his media briefing from New York.

Death and destruction have continued unabated in Lebanon while communities are still unable to return to their homes despite a ceasefire that began on 17 April, humanitarians said on Tuesday.

Amid claims and counter-claims of strikes and confrontations in the crucial Strait of Hormuz between Iran and the United States, UN maritime officials continue to urge vessels to exercise “maximum caution”.

Lebanon’s fragile ceasefire is being tested by renewed violence and rising humanitarian needs amid continuing civilians displacement, services under pressure and aid cuts.

The UN has formally concluded its cross-border humanitarian operations from Türkiye into Syria, marking the end of an 11-year mission that served as one of the most complex supply chains in the organization’s history. 

The strain on food, fuel and aid systems worldwide continues as the Middle East crisis deepens. Rising oil prices, supply disruptions and mounting transport costs are affecting humanitarian operations and access to essential goods far beyond the region. Stay with us this Friday for live updates.

As the Middle East crisis continues the humanitarian fallout is worsening, with aid route disruptions and food and fuel price hikes wrecking the lives and the rights of the most vulnerable people worldwide, UN agencies warned on Friday.