Briefing ambassadors at the UN Security Council, Geir Pedersen said that recent spike in violence, including airstrikes, rocket attacks and clashes between armed groups, underscored the urgent need for a political resolution. In addition, protests continue in some regions over unaddressed grievances and the presence of six foreign armies in the country are raising fears…
In a keynote address to the 2024 European Humanitarian Forum, Martin Griffiths outlined the need for the change. “I’m more convinced than ever, not just because of these crises, but also out of a sense of values, on the need for a step change in how we deliver assistance. This has to start with a…
Since the brutal 7 October terror attacks by Hamas and other militants on southern Israel and the ensuing military onslaught by Israel on Gaza, more than three quarters of the enclave’s population have been displaced from their homes, many multiple times. There are widespread shortages of food, water and sanitation, and the health system continues…
Sigrid Kaag reiterated Secretary-General António Guterres’s concern that such an operation at present time would be potentially disastrous for innocent civilians. “There are more than a million people crammed in Rafah. It’s not intended for a million people in shelters, in random sort of plastic sheeted constructions. Health conditions are very worrisome,” she told correspondents…
Nearly a decade of fighting between Government forces, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, pitted against Houthi rebels who control much of the country, has left 18.2 million Yemenis in need of life-saving assistance and protection, and 17.6 million are estimated to face acute food insecurity. The 2024 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) is based on robust…
Apart from a political decision, which would have to be made by the General Assembly, “there is no way any organization can replace or substitute the tremendous capacity and the fabric of UNRWA and its ability and knowledge,” Sigrid Kaag, Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza, told correspondents at a stakeout outside the Security…
Citing Gaza’s health authorities, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) also noted that some 62,681 Palestinians have been injured by Israeli strikes launched in retaliation for Hamas-led massacres in Israel that left some 1,200 dead and around 250 people taken hostage. Two Israeli soldiers have also been killed in Gaza since…
Holland’s outgoing Deputy Prime Minister Sigrid Kaag will facilitate, coordinate, monitor and verify aid consignments to the embittered enclave, in line with a recent Security Council resolution. She will also establish a mechanism to accelerate humanitarian relief shipments through States that are not party to the conflict. She is expected to take up the assignment…
Mr. Guterres was speaking at a press briefing at UN Headquarters shortly after the resolution was adopted. There has been no significant change in the way the war has been unfolding in Gaza, he said, with no effective protection of civilians. Israeli bombardment continues while Hamas and other factions continue to fire rockets into the…
Close to nine million people need humanitarian assistance and reports suggest that some 4000 people have been targeted and killed because of their ethnicity. There are now concerns that Darfur is returning to the years of brutal fighting and increasing atrocities last witnessed two decades ago that left some 300,000 people dead and millions of…
