In 2025, the MENA region faced overlapping crises including conflict, displacement, economic collapse, disease outbreaks, and climate shocks, placing children at risk and disrupting access to services.
The February 2026 airstrikes on Iran triggered a rapid escalation of risks across the region, intensifying gender-based violence (GBV) exposure in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, while further degrading already fragile protection systems and service delivery structures.
This study examines gendered experiences of arbitrary detention in Al-Hol and interrogates core assumptions of women’s alleged links or family ties to ISIL/Da’esh.
Despite urgent needs, 62 per cent of UNICEF’s response remains unfunded. Without timely support, the most vulnerable children risk missing access to critical, lifesaving services.
Yemen remains one of the world’s most acute and complex humanitarian crises. In 2025, protracted conflict, economic decline, and extreme weather driven by climate change have left more than 19.5 million people in need of humanitarian assistance.
Lebanon stands at a crossroads. The cessation of hostilities has allowed nearly 829,000 displaced people to return to their cadasters of origin as of 18 December, but for many, the journey back does not meet the minimum requirements for a secure and sustainable return.
UNHCR is engaging with thousands of refugees in neighboring countries, often with daily contact through helplines, surveys, focus group discussions, and other communications channels, listening to their concerns, providing up-to-date information, and understanding their perceptions and intentions around return.
This report is produced by OCHA Lebanon in collaboration with humanitarian partners and the Inter Sector Coordination Group. It covers the period from 6 – 12 December 2024.
