Middle East

Almost 625,000 children in the enclave have already lost an entire school year following the 7 October 2023 terror attacks by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups on communities in southern Israel and the ensuing Israeli military operation in Gaza. They are now joined by more than 45,000 six-year-old children poised to enter first grade, elevating the risk of a second year without any classroom education, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said. ‘Bright futures at risk’ “Children in the...

5 September 2024 Climate and Environment Unprecedented floods and winds have displaced thousands of families, destroyed homes, and severely damaged critical infrastructure, impacting over half a million people in Yemen, the UN migration agency (IOM) said on Thursday. “Yemen is facing yet another devastating chapter in its relentless crisis, exacerbated by the intersection of conflict and extreme weather events,” emphasised Matt Huber, IOM Yemen’s Acting Chief of Mission. The storms...

The campaign moved to southern areas of the Gaza Strip following the successful completion of the first phase in the centre of the enclave, thanks largely to pauses in the fighting. UNRWA along with partners provided the first dose of polio vaccine to children under 10 years old at the Japanese Health Centre in the devastated city of Khan Younis. Over the next four days, health workers will target an estimated 340,000 children below the age of 10, with some 517 teams deployed, including...

Since last October, the UN agency has raised nearly US$150 million from UNRWA Spain, UNRWA USA, foundations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), corporations and individuals. Some even doubled or tripled their donations, said Karim Amer, the agency’s Director of Partnerships, who spoke to UN News ahead of the International Day of Charity, observed annually on 5 September. “Your donations matter, no matter the size,” Mr. Amer said. “Your support is making an impact on tens of thousands...

Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, and Edem Wosornu, Director of Operations for humanitarian coordination wing, OCHA, were briefing ambassadors in the Security Council, against the backdrop of the recovery of the bodies of six hostages killed in Gaza and polio vaccination campaign which began at the weekend. The urgent meeting was requested – separately – by both Algeria and Israel. According to media reports, Israel demanded the Council condemn Hamas in the...

“We think that we will need another day tomorrow to actually wrap-up the central zone completely,” said Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, WHO Representative for the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). Speaking from Gaza, he explained that day three of the campaign was continuing during the eight-hour daily pauses agreed by the Israeli military and Hamas fighters. Each “humanitarian pause” is meant to last from 06:00 until 15:00 local time, with the possibility of adding an extra day if required...

By Ziad Taleb in the Gaza Strip and Khaled Haridi at United Nations Headquarters 2 September 2024 Health If the UN-led polio vaccination campaign currently underway in Gaza is to be successful in halting the spread of a virus that has resurfaced in the Strip after 25 years, 90 per cent of children under the age of 10 need to be inoculated. UN News correspondent Ziad Taleb has been speaking to some of the concerned parents. Wael al-Haj Mohammed’s daughter is a child of war. Born the...

1 September 2024 Health The first phase of a UN-led polio vaccination campaign has begun in the middle areas of Gaza. The operation aims to inoculate 600,000 children in the coming days. Hundreds of Gazan families have been queueing to await the turn of their child to receive a polio vaccination since early Sunday morning, in a campaign designed to stop the resurgence of a virus whose re-emergence has been blamed on insanitary conditions. Speaking to international media on Sunday, Sam...

WHO Representative for the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, said that the two-round vaccination campaign is due to begin this Sunday in central Gaza for three days, then move to the southern and northern areas. A second dose will be administered after four weeks. “During each round of the campaign, the Palestinian Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the WHO, [the UN Children’s Fund] UNICEF, UNRWA [the UN agency for Palestine refugees] and partners, will...

Echoing widespread condemnation internationally and within Israel of the attack reportedly by Israeli settlers on the village of Jit on Thursday which left a Palestinian man dead and about a dozen injured, OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani described the incident as “horrific”. She noted that the killing “was not an isolated attack”, in reference to years of violence directed at Palestinian communities by Israeli settlers, maintaining that it was “the direct consequence” of Israel’s...