The Syria crisis entered its fourteenth year in March 2024. The UN estimates that 16.7 million people need humanitarian assistance across the country – a 9 per cent increase from 2023.
During a recent field mission to south Lebanon, the first of its kind following the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, a team from the WHO country office visited areas that had been hard hit by conflict.
Wrapping up a visit to Syria on Monday, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, appealed to the international community for bold and decisive action to help Syrians rebuild their war-torn country and support displaced Syrians in returning home.
Since October 7, 2023, hostilities in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank have escalated to unprecedented levels, resulting in immense humanitarian needs in the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt).
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is devastated to report the death of Bilal Okal, our colleague killed by Israeli forces in Jabalia, north Gaza, Palestine, along with 10 of his family members.
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) expresses alarm at the escalating violence in the occupied West Bank, which has intensified following the fragile ceasefire in Gaza.
In less than one week, Israel’s ban on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) will come into effect, marking a critical moment for Palestinian refugees.
WFP welcomes the long-overdue ceasefire as a vital first step. Following the ceasefire, WFP trucks started crossing into Gaza via Zikim and Kerem Shalom/Karam Abu Salem crossings, to deliver life-saving wheat flour and ready-to-eat food parcels to those in urgent need.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) facilitated the release and transfer of three hostages out of Gaza to Israel, and 90 Palestinian detainees from Israel to the occupied Palestinian territory.
Nearly one third of children in Lebanon – 29% - began the new year facing crisis levels of hunger, with some pushed into child labour to support their families, said Save the Children after new data showed an almost 5% increase in child hunger in the past three months.
While the ceasefire in Gaza has finally been announced, in the past months people across the Strip have continued to suffer from Israeli forces' relentless bombardments. The northern governorate of Gaza in particular has been under siege and subject to horrific bombing and attacks.
For our part, the United Nations will do all we can to advance these efforts — in particular, to scale up humanitarian aid across Gaza, fully aware of the significant obstacles, challenges and constraints that we still face.
As the ceasefire violations persist and the needs remain high, it is vital to ensure timely assistance for the vulnerable people returning to their destroyed villages and those still displaced.
The World Health Organization (WHO) welcomes the Gaza ceasefire, hostage and prisoner release deal, which brings hope for millions of people whose lives have been ravaged by the conflict.
