In a statement issued by Edouard Beigbeder, UNICEF’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, the agency called for “the immediate cessation of armed activity across the occupied West Bank”.

A 10-year-old Palestinian boy died from gunshot wounds last Friday and two days later, a woman who was eight months pregnant was reportedly shot and killed in Nur Shams camp, resulting in the loss of her unborn baby.

The violence, which has intensified in recent weeks, has left families in mourning and communities in distress.

Sharp increase in child fatalities

According to UNICEF, 13 Palestinian children have been killed in the West Bank since the beginning of 2025.

Seven of these deaths occurred after 19 January, following a large-scale military operation in the north of the territory. Among the casualties was a two-year-old whose pregnant mother was also injured in the shooting.

The numbers reflect a worrying trend. Since 7 October 2023, 195 Palestinian children and three Israeli children have been killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

“There has been a 200 per cent increase in the number of Palestinian children killed in the territory over the past 16 months as compared to the 16 months prior,” Mr. Beigbeder explained.

Devastation in refugee camps

The humanitarian situation has worsened in areas such as Jenin, Tulkarem and Tubas Governorates, where airstrikes, demolitions and the use of explosive weapons have severely damaged essential infrastructure.

Many communities, particularly in refugee camps, have been cut off from basic services, with water and electricity supplies disrupted.

Thousands of families have been displaced due to military operations, including in Jenin, Nur Shams, Tulkarem and al-Faraa Camps.

The deteriorating security situation has made daily life increasingly difficult, particularly for children.

Education under threat

The education of children has been severely disrupted, with nearly 100 schools affected.

Teachers and students in conflict-hit areas face significant risks in attending classes, heightening concerns over long-term psychological and social impacts.

Many children require urgent mental health and psychosocial support due to their exposure to violence, displacement and the loss of loved ones.

UNICEF has called for greater resources to address these growing needs.

Call for protection

“UNICEF condemns all acts of violence against children,” said Mr. Beigbeder. “All civilians, including every child without exception, must be protected.”

“Humanitarian organizations must have safe and unfettered access to deliver life-saving assistance and protection services to children and their families,” he continued.

UNICEF emphasised the urgent need for a lasting political solution, backed by the international community, to secure a peaceful and stable future for all children in the region.

The agency “stands ready to work with partners to address both the immediate and long-term needs of affected children and families in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem,” Mr. Beigbeder concluded.

In a media briefing on Tuesday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus highlighted the consequences of funding suspensions, including disruptions to HIV treatment, setbacks in polio eradication and limited resources for responding to mpox epidemics in Africa.

“The suspension of funding to PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, caused an immediate stop to HIV treatment, testing and prevention services in the 50 countries,” Tedros said.

He noted that despite a waiver for life-saving services, prevention programmes for at-risk groups remain excluded, clinics have closed, and health workers have been put on leave.

Tedros urged the US Government to reconsider its funding approach, at least until alternative solutions can be found to maintain essential health services.

Ebola outbreak in Uganda

Turning to Uganda, Tedros provided updates on the recently reported Ebola outbreak, with nine confirmed cases, including one death.

WHO has deployed emergency teams to support surveillance, treatment and infection control measures.

A vaccine trial, launched just four days after the outbreak was declared, is now underway, while approval for a therapeutics trial is pending.

To sustain the response, WHO has allocated an additional $2 million from its Contingency Fund for Emergencies, supplementing the $1 million already provided.

Conflict in DR Congo

The humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is also straining health services, with more than 900 deaths and over 4,000 injuries reported amid escalating violence in the east.

“At most, only one-third of people who need health services in North and South Kivu are able to receive them,” Tedros stated, emphasising the risks posed by infectious disease outbreaks such as mpox and cholera.

Supplies, including medicines and fuel, are running critically low, further complicating WHO’s ability to respond.

Advancing childhood cancer treatment

On a more positive note and as UN News reported on Tuesday, WHO announced progress in expanding access to childhood cancer medicines in low and middle-income countries.

“Yesterday, we began distributing childhood cancer medicines at no cost in the first two countries: Mongolia and Uzbekistan,” said Tedros, adding that shipments are planned for four more countries.

The programme is facilitated through the Global Initiative on Childhood Cancer, launched in partnership with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

The initiative aims to reach 120,000 children across 50 countries over the next five to seven years, addressing stark disparities in survival rates between high-income and low-income nations.

Bruno Lemarquis, Deputy Special Representative and Humanitarian Coordinator for the DRC, updated journalists on latest developments and obstacles to aid delivery, which include loss of critical supplies to looting and the impact of the decision by the United States to suspend billions in foreign aid.

The DRC was the largest recipient of US humanitarian assistance in the world in 2024, and 70 per cent of the $1.3 billion in funding received that year came from Washington.

A wider problem

Mr. Lemarquis said the situation in the east remains extremely volatile, with escalating armed clashes, mass displacement and increasing insecurity in both North Kivu and South Kivu provinces.

Since January, the M23 have been on an unprecedented advance across the volatile mineral-rich region. 

The rebels captured the main city, Goma, on 27 January, leaving some 2,900 people dead and many more injured. They are continuing a march towards Bukavu, capital of South Kivu province.

“But there are more than the M23 in the DRC,” said Mr. Lemarquis, speaking from the capital, Kinshasa.  “For example, this morning we learned that at least 52 civilians were reportedly killed in Ituri by the armed group called CODECO.”

Clashes and consequences

He said the M23 and Rwandan forces are advancing towards the Kavumu Airport which is located close to Bukavu, home to roughly 1.3 million people.

“Clashes are ongoing, including today, and they’re likely to continue, and the M23 may use alternative routes to progress towards the town of Bukavu in the coming days, with again massive consequences on the civilian population,” he warned.

The M23, which is part of a political-military coalition called Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), is largely in control of Goma and they have appointed de facto authorities including a governor and mayor.  

The situation in the city “remains tense and far from normal” due to the ongoing occupation. Although security has improved in some areas, concerns persist. 

‘Mob justice’ and other threats

Mr. Lemarquis said the past few days have seen “recourse to mob justice in a context of proliferation of light weapons and ammunition, and the looting of court houses.” This presents a further challenge to “reinstating the rule of law in a zone with a tragic legacy of gross humanitarian gross human rights violations and impunity,” he added.

“Furthermore, several human rights defenders, in particular those working on issues of sexual and gender-based violence, as well as journalists, report persistent threats and incidents of forced disappearance and summary execution targeting them,” he continued.

Lack of services

Meanwhile, many people in Goma are still facing difficult humanitarian conditions. Essential services, particularly water and electricity, are not yet fully operational.  As a result, many are using water directly from Lake Kivu, thus increasing the risk of contracting waterborne diseases. 

Mr. Lemarquis noted, however, that things have improved slightly as efforts are underway to restore electricity and to re-establish the water supply.  School activities have partially resumed after a two-week suspension due to the fighting, though many teachers remain uncertain about their status and pay under the new de facto authorities.

Public services also remain partially functional in Goma, with a limited number of civil servants having returned to work because of the uncertainty, but hospitals are still overwhelmed.

“Mortuaries are saturated, and medical teams have to cope with an unprecedented number of war wounded, with a shortage of medicine and medical supplies,” he said.

“Risks of epidemics are high in the city, in particular cholera and mpox. Food prices have risen, and more and more people need food assistance every day.”

Commitment to stay

Against this complex backdrop, humanitarian partners remain on the ground working to prevent and alleviate suffering, he said. They are also moving to strengthen response now that the situation has stabilized, and several colleagues who were evacuated or relocated will be brought back.

However, some key challenges remain. Mr. Lemarquis said many facilities belonging to the UN and international aid agencies were looted during the height of the fighting in Goma, and millions of dollars in supplies were lost.

Getting aid to Goma is another major obstacle as the airport there remains closed and non-operational.

“Without this airport we cannot evacuate the seriously injured, transport the necessary medical supplies or bring in humanitarian reinforcement,” he said. “All parties must act now to work together to re-open the airport and allow humanitarian flights to resume.”

A ‘new reality’

Humanitarians are also affected by the “new reality in Goma” as they navigate customs and border-related issues, while their final challenge concerns the Trump administration’s decision to temporarily suspend foreign aid.  

“This is a major source of concern with several UN agencies and international NGOs active on the ground having seen their operations at best severely impact, if not halted,” he said.

“Our humanitarian response is the most dependent in the world on US assistance. We were 70 per cent funded by US funding, so this is having major impact.”

US aid cuts

In response to a journalist’s question, Mr. Lemarquis explained that humanitarians required $2.5 billion for their operations in 2024 and garnered $1.3 billion – the highest amount ever received in the DRC for humanitarian response. Of the total, $910 million came from the US alone. 

“The ultra-dependence on US funding means a lot of programmes had to shut down on everything we are doing. So, it’s emergency health, it’s emergency shelter…it’s coordination capacity,” he said. 

“The only exception so far, but we hope there will be more exceptions, was emergency food assistance.”

Appeal for international support

Yet “despite these challenges, we aim to stay and deliver,” said Mr. Lemarquis. 

On behalf of the humanitarian community, he reiterated the call for “all the parties to end hostilities and to return to the political process.”

He also urged the international community “to intensify its support for the humanitarian response in this complicated area.”