The UN relief agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) reports that Israeli authorities have started demolishing more than 16 buildings in Nur Shams refugee camp, after destroying more than two dozen homes over the past week in the occupied West Bank.

Those displaced are staying at public shelters in Jenin and Tulkarm, with many lacking bare necessities, according to a new assessment from the UN aid coordination office (OCHA).

“Less than half of the people our teams interviewed said they could afford food, with many reducing or skipping meals. Children are also unable to attend school,” UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told reporters at the regular daily briefing in New York.

Humanitarian efforts

Since the beginning of the Israeli operation in January, humanitarian partners have been providing life-saving assistance, distributing food parcels and daily meals.

Over 5,000 families have received cash assistance to meet their basic needs, and relief efforts have included the provision of bedding, dignity kits, water storage tanks and mobile latrines in Jenin, Tulkarm and Tubas.

Access restrictions

Meanwhile, according to OCHA, the closure of the Tayaseer checkpoint since February has severely hampered movement for more than 60,000 Palestinians.

On the first Friday of Ramadan, these restrictions prevented thousands of Palestinian worshippers from reaching holy sites.

While the Israeli authorities have allowed Palestinians access to East Jerusalem and the H2 area of Hebron, they have set up hundreds of metal barriers and imposed restrictions based on age and gender, with the condition that worshippers possess Israeli-issued permits.

OCHA has deployed teams to identify potential protection risks and possible measures for Palestinians to cross, with particular attention to the most vulnerable.

No aid entering Gaza

In Gaza, humanitarian organizations warned on Friday that the closure of all crossings for nearly a week has cut off the flow of critical aid, exacerbating suffering among civilians who have already endured months of hardship.

“It is critical that humanitarian assistance is allowed to enter Gaza without delay,” said Mr. Dujarric.

Under international humanitarian law, Israel, as the occupying power, is required to ensure that people’s essential needs are met, including by facilitating aid into Gaza. 

“I am deeply worried about reports of destruction of homes and livelihoods in North Darfur,” said Clementine Nkweta-Salami, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan. “Civilians continue to pay the price. Access to Zamzam camp is nearly impossible, just when people need support the most. We need unimpeded humanitarian access to deliver life-saving aid.”

Zamzam camp is around 15 kilometres south of El Fasher town, the capital of North Darfur, which has been besieged by militia forces opposing the Government in Khartoum now for months. It opened in 2004 to shelter people uprooted by the war in the west of the country.

Just last week, the UN World Food Programme reported that children were already dying in the camp and that thousands could starve in the coming weeks, after it was forced to pause aid distribution amid heavy shelling.

Allies-turned-foes

Across Sudan, the Government’s Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have been battling their former allies- turned-adversaries, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia, since 15 April 2023 when a planned transition to civilian rule broke down.

The RSF now controls virtually all of Darfur but has been laying siege to the city of El Fasher for months, close to Zamzam.

RSF militia stormed the camp on 11 February triggering several days of clashes with army troops and allied forces, according to news reports.

On Tuesday evening, in another attack on civilians that have been a feature of the Sudan conflict, dozens of mainly Muslims were believed to have been killed in North Darfur’s Abu Shouk camp after an attack on a busy market there, credited to the RSF.

That followed another reported shelling attack on the camp on Sunday which left six dead.

In a related development, the Security Council expressed grave concern over the signing of a charter by Sudan’s opposition forces seeking to establish a parallel governing authority in Sudan.

“The members of the Security Council underscored that such actions risk exacerbating the ongoing conflict in Sudan, fragmenting the country, and worsening an already dire humanitarian situation,” the 15-member body said.

$22 million in emergency aid provided

Today, two million people in 27 locations across Sudan are now experiencing famine or on the brink of it. The Sudanese army controls northern and eastern regions, while the militia and their allies hold sway in much of the Darfurs in the west and parts of the south.

To help the most vulnerable civilians, the UN’s Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, announced on Thursday that $22 million is to be allocated to support lifesaving humanitarian aid in Sudan.

The funds will be released from the Central Emergency Response Fund, CERF, to offer assistance to counter the impact of the spiralling conflict, hunger, disease and climate shocks.

Child rape horrror

Earlier this week, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned that infants as young as one year old were being raped by armed forces.

More than 220 cases of child rape have been reported since the start of 2024, the UN agency said, citing data from teams helping victims of gender-based violence.

“Children as young as one being raped by armed men should shock anyone to their core and compel immediate action,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.

The “current trajectory is deeply concerning,” he told ambassadors, updating them on the latest political developments in the country, where Houthi rebels – formally known as Ansar Allah – have been battling Government forces backed by a Saudi-led coalition, for more than a decade.

He spoke alongside UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher who updated on the recent humanitarian constraints and emphasised the impact of the worsening situation facing women in the country.

Recent developments

While a resumption of large-scale ground operations in Yemen has not occurred since the UN-mediated truce of April 2022, military activity continues – and the cessation of hostilities is increasingly at risk.

“We have seen a rise in rhetoric from the parties to the conflict, pre-positioning themselves publicly for military confrontation,” explained Mr. Grundberg.

“We must not allow this to happen. Words matter. Intent matters. Signals matter. Mixed messaging and escalatory discourse can have real impacts,” he underscored.

The Special Envoy described recent reports of shelling, drone attacks, infiltration attempts and mobilisation campaigns recently witnessed in Ma’rib as well as in other areas such as Al Jawf, Shabwa and Ta’iz.

He also deplored the Houthis’ arbitrary detention of UN personnel and workers from other organizations – some for years – calling for the immediate and unconditional release of all detainees.

“Some colleagues’ parents have passed away while they have been in detention, without knowing the fate of their children,” he gravely noted.

Humanitarian constraints

Tom Fletcher brought ambassadors’ attention to the recent funding cuts UN agencies have been facing, which “have been a body blow” to aid workers efforts to save lives.

“It is the pace at which so much vital work has been shut down that adds to the perfect storm that we face”, he said.

The Humanitarian Coordinator explained the implications of such cuts, which will put aid workers in impossible situations where they have to choose “which lives not to save”.

Assault on equality

As the world readies itself to celebrate International Women’s Day on 8 March, Mr. Fletcher emphasised the “deliberate pushback against equality” witnessed in Yemen.

The crisis has disproportionately and devastatingly impacted women and girls. In 2021, Yemen ranked second to last in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index. And “there is no sign of progress for them,” Mr. Fletcher noted.

Yemen’s maternal mortality rate is the highest in the Middle East – more than ten times that of Saudi Arabia or Oman. Meanwhile, 1.5 million girls remain out of school, denying them their right to education and preventing them from breaking the cycles of discrimination and violence.

As funding for Yemen evaporates, “the numbers in my next briefings will be worse,” Mr. Fletcher put to the room. And yet, despite bearing the greatest burdens of war, displacement and deprivation, women remain on the frontlines of survival and recovery.

“We will do what we can to support them with the dwindling resources we have,” Mr. Fletcher said.

It is a tough time to be a humanitarian but “much tougher for the people we serve,” he continued. “The decisions you take will determine whether it gets worse,” he told ambassadors.

Tom Fletcher (on screen), Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, briefs the Security Council on the situation in Yemen.

‘The only way forward’

The now unfolding US designation of Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization has complicated international cooperation in peace efforts.

Preserving “the mediation space for the Yemenis” under the auspices of the UN to reach a just and inclusive peace is crucial, Mr. Grundberg said.

Reiterating his office’s commitment to its role, Mr. Grundberg highlighted that it would convene “the parties at any opportunity to bring an end to this decade-long conflict,” emphasising that any political process needs to include a “broad spectrum of Yemenis”.

“While this is possible to achieve, the environment for this to happen must be conducive,” he said. “Positive developments must be put on a more permanent footing.”

“We owe it to the millions of Yemenis not to waver or falter in our determination on this,” he concluded.

The UN’s top aid official, Tom Fletcher, said that more than 300 million people urgently need assistance.

But funding has been falling annually, and this year’s levels are projected to drop to a record low.

“Brutal funding cuts don’t mean that humanitarian needs disappear; today’s emergency fund allocation channels resources swiftly to where they’re needed most,” he said.

One third of the CERF money will support Sudan and neighbouring Chad, which is home to many uprooted Sudanese.

The funds will also bolster the aid response in Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Honduras, Mauritania, Niger, Somalia, Venezuela and Zambia.

Part of the allocation will go towards life-saving initiatives to protect vulnerable people from climate shocks, too.

Funding cuts impact aid for millions: UNICEF

Funding cuts to overseas aid levels in multiple countries are severely limiting the UN Children Fund’s ability to reach millions of children in dire need, the agency’s Executive Director said on Thursday.

UNICEF chief Catherine Russell highlighted cuts “by numerous donor countries follow two years of aid reductions at a time of unprecedented need.  Millions of children are affected by conflict, need to be vaccinated against deadly diseases such as measles and polio, and must be educated and kept healthy.”

She added that needs are outpacing resources and despite introducing efficiencies and innovation to their work, UNICEF teams have stretched every contribution to its limit.

“But there is no way around it, these new cuts are creating a global funding crisis that will put the lives of millions of additional children at risk.”

Funded entirely by voluntary contributions, the UN children’s agency has helped save millions, making “historic progress”.

Since 2000, global under-fives mortality has dropped by 50 per cent: “UNICEF implores all donors to continue to fund critical aid programs for the world’s children. We cannot fail them now,” Ms. Russell underlined.

Afghanistan: Lives and livelihoods on the line

Offering one snapshot of how cuts and shortfalls in aid are impacting one of the world’s most vulnerable nations, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric highlighted conditions in Afghanistan.

“Our humanitarian colleagues warn that Afghanistan continues to face a severe humanitarian crisis defined by decades of conflict, entrenched poverty, climate-induced shocks and rising protection risks, especially for women and girls,” he told reporters at the regular daily briefing in New York.  

More than half of the population – or 23 million people – need humanitarian assistance in the country, which has been run by the Taliban since they seized power from the democratically elected Government in August 2021.

Nearly 3.5 million children under five and more than a million pregnant and breastfeeding women are expected to become acutely malnourished, while explosive hazards continue to pose a lethal threat following decades of brutal civil conflict.

An estimated 55 people are killed or injured by ordnance every month – most of them are children.

Cuts already taking a toll

“Funding cuts are already significantly constraining the humanitarian community’s efforts to provide assistance to those most in need,” Mr Dujarric said.

In the past month, more than 200 health facilities have closed, depriving 1.8 million people from essential health services.

Malnutrition services for children have also been impacted.

“Our humanitarian partners warn that aid funding cuts will cost both lives and livelihoods – and undermine development gains,” said the UN Spokesperson.  

UN agencies and partners on the ground are urgently reprioritising programmes to ensure communities and areas most in need can be reached.