The UN and the crisis in the Middle East: What you need to know

16 February

The largest remaining hospital in southern Gaza is “barely functional”, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Friday amid reports of intense attacks by Israeli forces.

15 February

UN Human Rights are deeply worried by the reports that Israeli forces have today raided the Nasser Medical Complex in the south of the occupied Gaza Strip, less than a week after they raided Al Amal Hospital in western Khan Younis.

Despite unprecedented challenges, the UN relief agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) continues to provide lifesaving supplies and services to more than 1.5 million displaced people in southern Gaza.

14 February

UN medics said on Wednesday that they feared a humanitarian disaster “beyond imagination” if a full-scale incursion by the Israeli military happens in Rafah in southern Gaza.

13 February

As international efforts continue to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, the head of UNRWA, the UN aid agency for Palestinians, warned on Tuesday that those in the enclave remain deeply traumatised by the war with Israel and afraid of a full-scale assault on Rafah in the south.

As brutal war and displacement continue, over 2 million people in Gaza depend on
UNRWA for survival.

UNRWA runs shelters for over 1 million people and provides critical humanitarian aid, as well as primary healthcare – even at the height of hostilities.

12 February

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk appealed for restraint in the face of an Israeli military incursion in Rafah, warning of the risk of further atrocity crimes in the Gaza war.

9 February

The UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide expressed profound horror at the ongoing situation in the Middle East, reiterating the call for a humanitarian ceasefire and protection of civilians.

7 February

As the devastating Gaza-Israel war entered its fifth month on Wednesday leaving a reported 27,585 Palestinians dead and nearly 70,000 injured, the UN’s top humanitarian official welcomed early indications of a “potential breakthrough” in negotiations for a ceasefire and the release of all remaining hostages (UN News).

5 February

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday appointed an independent panel to conduct an assessment of the UN agency that assists Palestine refugees, UNRWA, following accusations that several staff were involved in the 7 October attacks against Israel (UN News).

1 February

“It’s difficult to imagine that Gazans will survive this crisis without UNRWA…(we) have received reports that people in the area are grinding bird feed to make flour,” said Thomas White, Director of UNRWA Affairs in Gaza and UN Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Ongoing military operations by Israel in Gaza have made it the deadliest and most dangerous war for journalists covering it “in recent history”, UN independent human rights experts warned on Thursday.

“We are alarmed at the extraordinarily high numbers of journalists and media workers who have been killed, attacked, injured and detained in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly in Gaza, in recent months blatantly disregarding international law,” the experts said.