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Gaza aid lifelines under strain as winter worsens
Since the fragile October ceasefire began as phase one of the US-led peace plan, thousands of tents and hundreds of thousands of tarpaulins have been distributed.
Yet partners estimate that over one million people – around half of Gaza’s population – still urgently need shelter support. “The needs remain immense, and the harsh weather only deepens the suffering of families living in tents or war-damaged buildings,” said the UN Spokesperson’s Office on Friday.
Water, sanitation and hygiene services are also under pressure. Storms have damaged already shattered infrastructure, while fuel shortages and limited landfill access have left waste piling up.
UNICEF-supported teams continue to remove around 1,000 tons of solid waste each month, helping protect children and families from health risks.
Heavy rains and floods cause widespread destruction in the Gaza Strip, displacing residents and leaving streets filled with mud and rubble.
West Bank demolitions
In the West Bank, demolition of 25 buildings in Nur Shams refugee camp has displaced around 70 families. UN Palestine relief agency, UNRWA, continues to support those who have had to flee from Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams, covering rental costs for three months during the cold winter.
Humanitarian agencies continue to advocate for safe access and the entry of specialised equipment to maintain essential services, underscoring the critical role of UN and NGO partners in delivering life-saving assistance across the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Lives at stake as Israeli curbs tighten: UNRWA chief
New Israeli restrictions on international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) risk further crippling humanitarian operations in Gaza at a moment of acute need, the head of the UN Palestine refugee relief agency warned Friday.
Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of UNRWA, said the measures would reduce life-saving assistance for civilians already struggling to survive after months of conflict and deprivation.
In a social media statement on Friday, Mr. Lazzarini said he was echoing concerns raised by principals of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) – the forum that brings together heads of UN and non-UN humanitarian organisations.
Matter of survival
“New Israeli restrictions on international NGOs are further compromising the humanitarian operation in the Gaza Strip,” he said, stressing that “people in Gaza need more aid, not less, simply to survive”.
He warned that the measures would also undermine efforts to assist communities affected by escalating violence in the West Bank, where humanitarian needs have surged alongside displacement and access constraints.
According to the IASC, the planned restrictions include new registration and operational requirements for international NGOs that would significantly limit their ability to deliver.
Humanitarian leaders have urged Israeli authorities to revoke the measures, warning that they would severely disrupt aid delivery and contravene Israel’s obligations under international humanitarian law.
UNRWA targeted
Mr. Lazzarini said the latest steps follow the adoption of Israeli legislation targeting UNRWA, which has already had a chilling effect on humanitarian operations. Taken together, he said, they form “a troubling pattern” that risks setting a dangerous global precedent.
“Failing to push back against attempts to control the work of aid organisations will further undermine the basic humanitarian principles of neutrality, independence, impartiality and humanity,” he said.
Humanitarian agencies have repeatedly warned that access constraints, insecurity and bureaucratic impediments are preventing aid from reaching people in need across the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
They say any further restrictions could have immediate and potentially fatal consequences for civilians who are dependent on humanitarian assistance.
UN officials and aid leaders continue to call for unimpeded humanitarian access, respect for international law and the protection of humanitarian personnel and operations.
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New year dawns amid rubble and resolve in Gaza
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians remain uprooted, many living in makeshift tents pitched on bare ground or squeezed into damaged buildings without reliable access to water, electricity, healthcare or sanitation.
Winter rains have compounded the hardship, flooding shelters and turning camp pathways into heavy mud.
Fragile hope
Yet, amid the destruction, displaced families say the arrival of a new year has stirred fragile hopes for stability, safety and a chance to rebuild lives interrupted by conflict.
Standing in front of her tent, Umm Rabee’ Al-Malash appealed for more international engagement.
“The Palestinian people must be supported, as they have endured immense suffering,” she told our correspondent. “Help us rebuild the Gaza Strip, bring about peace, and allow us to have a State where we can live in peace and security.”
Falling behind
For parents, the toll on children is among the deepest scars of the war. Schools across Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, while thousands of young people have missed out on months of learning.
Wafaa Al-Khawaja voiced her fears for the next generation. “I wish that, just as the rest of the world lives, we could live the same way.
“Our children today have no education or anything else,” she said, describing days consumed by the struggle to find food, water and warmth.
In northern Gaza, displacement has cut off families from homes and livelihoods built over decades.
Turn back the clock
Kamal Abu Hsheish, originally from the Jabalia camp, said his only wish is to return to the life he knew before the war. For now, daily reality inside the camps continues to impose severe humanitarian conditions on thousands of families.
Aid agencies warn that relief efforts face mounting challenges, including damaged infrastructure, restricted access and the sheer scale of need.
Our children today have no education or anything else
Reconstruction, they say, will require sustained international commitment once conditions allow if the Gaza peace deal can advance to the next stage.
As Gaza’s displaced population marks the start of another year – with no return to their old life in sight – hopes remain bound to an end to violence and meaningful political progress on the 20-point plan which established the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in early October.
Until then, families wait, enduring loss and uncertainty, while clinging to the belief that the coming months may finally bring safety, dignity and the possibility of going home to rebuild.
Vatican New Year 2026: Te Deum, Mass and a Peace Plea
From a year-end Te Deum in St Peter’s Basilica to the World Day of Peace Mass on 1 January, Pope Leo XIV used the Vatican’s New Year rituals to press a simple idea: peace begins by “disarming” hearts.
VATICAN CITY — 1 January 2026 — The Vatican’s passage from 2025 into 2026 unfolded less like a countdown and more like a two-day liturgical “bridge”: an evening service of thanksgiving on 31 December, followed by a New Year’s Day Mass that also marks the Catholic Church’s annual World Day of Peace.
This year, in his first Vatican New Year as Pope, Leo XIV framed both moments around a consistent message—rejecting violence, urging forgiveness, and presenting peace as a moral duty with public consequences. The Vatican’s official programme lists the Te Deum service on 31 December and the papal Mass on 1 January as the central public celebrations.
Two headline moments in St Peter’s
- 31 December (evening): First Vespers and the Te Deum, the traditional hymn of thanksgiving, were celebrated in St Peter’s Basilica—an established Vatican way of formally closing the year in prayer.
- 1 January (morning): Leo XIV presided at Mass for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, which the Church also marks as the World Day of Peace, before addressing pilgrims at midday.
While New Year’s celebrations across Europe often centre on fireworks and public parties, the Vatican’s tone is deliberately reflective. The two services—one looking back with gratitude, the other looking ahead with a peace agenda—are designed to set priorities for the year to come.
“Unarmed and disarming”: the peace theme for 2026
In the New Year’s Day liturgy, Leo XIV returned repeatedly to the idea of an “unarmed and disarming” peace—language that also anchors his official message for the World Day of Peace. In the Vatican’s text, the emphasis is not only on ending wars, but on refusing the logic of threat and exclusion at every level of society.
Vatican News, reporting on the Mass and homily, highlighted the Pope’s insistence that peace is built through concrete choices—beginning with the “disarming” of hearts and a rejection of violence as a solution. See: Vatican News coverage of the New Year Mass. In his midday remarks, he again urged people to begin “today” with daily acts that make peace possible: Vatican News on the Angelus.
The wider peace message is published in full by the Holy See: World Day of Peace 2026 message. International Catholic reporting also underscored how the Pope extended his appeal to families and communities affected by violence and loss: USCCB/CNS report.
A Jubilee backdrop as Rome turns the page
The New Year celebrations also took place in the final stretch of the Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee (Holy Year), a pilgrimage cycle that draws large crowds to Rome and shapes the Vatican’s public messaging around themes of hope and renewal.
For Europe—where debates over war, social cohesion, and migration remain politically charged—the Vatican’s Jubilee framing functions as a steady values-based reference point: dignity, reconciliation, and responsibility without slogans.
In an earlier profile, The European Times reported on Leo XIV’s election and expectations around his approach—context that helps explain why the Vatican’s 2025–26 “celebration” leaned less toward spectacle and more toward a disciplined moral theme.
Why it matters beyond St Peter’s Square
Vatican New Year liturgies are often described as symbolic, but symbols can carry public weight—especially when they reinforce norms that European institutions also claim to defend: human dignity, non-violence, and the protection of the vulnerable.
In that sense, the Vatican’s passage into 2026 was less a party than a public audit of conscience—closing one year with thanksgiving, and opening the next with a direct challenge: if peace is a gift, it is also a responsibility.
Scientology closes 2025 making gala of its expansion and plans for 2026
“Auld Lang Syne” has echoed through New Year’s festivities for over a century, symbolizing the bridge between where we’ve been and where we’re going. But on this night inside the Shrine Auditorium, that timeless sentiment took on a whole new dimension.
From the outset, the evening embodied the hallmarks of a Scientology New Year’s Celebration—elegance, anticipation and a sense of purpose. Dressed in formal evening wear, more than 6,500 guests filled the historic hall to honor the momentous feats of 2025, their gaze cast upon a boundless horizon unfolding before them.
“For most of the world, New Year’s is something they wait for. They count down seconds, watching the clock, as if time is the one telling them when life begins again,” said Mr. David Miscavige, ecclesiastical leader of the Scientology religion. “But we’ve never lived time that way. So while the rest of the planet may still be winding down its clocks—we’re here for something else entirely: to see what happens when a full year of Scientology accomplishments is unleashed all at once.”
And with that, Mr. Miscavige set the stage for a night showcasing a series of highlights from a year of endless expansion. Among those achievements, the numbers tuning in to Scientology Network continue to grow, drawing 11 times the viewership since network launch, while earning more than 170 awards for creative and technical excellence. And those viewers become doers, as over a million students have now enrolled in online courses—another record-breaking milestone.
The year was further defined by a panorama of Grand Openings illuminating the globe. Beginning with the ribbon-cutting for the newest Ideal Org half a world away in South Africa’s Eastern Cape—a landmark 10-story masterpiece now rising into the Nelson Mandela Bay skyline.
The wave of expansion rolled on as L. Ron Hubbard’s enduring legacy came vividly to life this past summer with the Grand Opening of three new L. Ron Hubbard (LRH) Landmark Sites—each meticulously restored to its original grandeur in honor of his milestone breakthroughs:
- In Elizabeth, New Jersey, dedicating the site of the first Dianetics Foundation, where Mr. Hubbard trained the first Dianetic Auditors 75 years ago.
- In Phoenix, Arizona, inaugurating the location where he unified the subjects of Dianetics and Scientology, forever shaping the course of the religion.
- And in Harare, Zimbabwe, unveiling the site where he filmed the legendary Clearing Course lectures and delivered his only filmed interview, An Introduction to Scientology.
From expansion to empowerment, the night next ascended to a succession of living triumphs—each one illustrating the impact of LRH Technology in action, transforming communities and inspiring lasting change.
Association for Better Living and Education (ABLE), addressing society’s most urgent challenges—drug abuse, illiteracy, immorality and crime—through its wide-reaching programs:
- In Sonora, Mexico, where widespread addiction has reached alarming levels, a government-sponsored Narconon for men proves so effective that civic leaders open a dedicated wing for women. Altogether, the facility has provided more than 100,000 rehabilitation hours, restoring a life every six days. In the wake of that success, regional officials partner with Narconon to establish a youth facility for teens in crisis, extending rehabilitation to the next generation. As a result, Narconon Navojoa is now the model for government-funded Narconons across Mexico.
- In Kenya, sprawling slums drive a relentless cycle of crime and imprisonment known as “the revolving door.” But a former inmate joins fellow ex-prisoners to break that pattern for his people. Upon discovering The Way to Happiness, they set out to bring the 21 precepts to schools and community groups, steering youth from gangs and slashing drug use in schools from 80 percent to just 5. Then returning to Kenya’s prisons, they cut recidivism by 51 percent—ending the cycle of crime and opening the door to a new beginning for Kenya’s youth and families.
- In Colombo, Sri Lanka, where students are only taught rote memorization, a teacher sets out to instill actual understanding. After discovering Applied Scholastics, she integrates Study Technology at her school and, before long, her students are advancing three grade levels in a single year. Building on those gains, she creates a program for widespread teacher instruction on the barriers to study, ultimately training over 2,000 educators and transforming education for more than 80,000 students. All culminated in a national partnership to bring Study Technology to all 10,000 schools of Sri Lanka.
World Institute of Scientology Enterprises (WISE), disseminating L. Ron Hubbard’s Administrative Technology (Admin Tech) for group survival and prosperity:
- In the United Kingdom, a WISE member of Scottish heritage takes on the relentless rain of the British Isles when he assumes control of a failing gutter cleaning business. Applying Admin Tech, he rebuilds the operation—establishing an Organizing Board, codifying company policies and launching an apprenticeship program. Accordingly, his enterprise has expanded more than 140 times and now fields a fully trained force of 250 specialists, safeguarding 2,500 homes a week—more than 125,000 in the last year alone. Serving every county across the kingdom, his company today is the number one gutter and roof care service in the UK.
- In Colombia, customs delays and disorganization trigger trade backlogs that are triple the international average. But a WISE member and logistics expert applies Admin Tech to design his enterprise as a high-efficiency import-export engine. By consolidating every phase of cargo and customs and coordinating production flows, he compresses a 35-day cycle into just three days, transporting everything from white marble to steel and from animals to automobiles. Delivering more than 70,000 tons of cargo annually by land, air and sea across 91 nations, his company has expanded 46 times in the past decade, becoming Colombia’s leading full-service logistics operator.
- In Hungary, where 9 out of 10 businesses fail due to a lack of organizational know-how, a WISE Consultant sets out to apply LRH solutions across the nation’s commercial sector. His company’s seminars equip leaders with the tools to implement proper procedures, driving Admin Tech into 6,000 companies and training over 25,000 professionals, ranging from a children’s furniture factory earning prestigious Superbrands status to a theatrical tailoring house named Entrepreneur of the Year. Today, out of 1.8 million businesses in Hungary, this WISE Consultant firm ranks in the top one percent for stability and proven excellence.
International Hubbard Ecclesiastical League of Pastors (I HELP) and Scientology Missions International (SMI) provide Dianetics and Scientology introductory services in communities planetwide:
- In Japan, where three-quarters of the population say they live under stress and anxiety, an educator exploring psychology simultaneously discovers Dianetics and changes course completely. Establishing a Dianetics Group in Ashiya—the Beverly Hills of Japan—she sets out with a singular purpose: to rekindle the spirit of the Japanese people. She drives Dianetics throughout the region—from delivering introductory lectures to giving radio interviews—altogether introducing thousands to Dianetics. Whereafter, a city Mayor praises her for “bringing hope and true solutions,” as she ignites the glow of a Book One wildfire spreading across her region of Japan.
- In Valencia, Spain, residents increasingly face rising crime and public insecurity. But the city’s Ideal Scientology Mission stands as a pillar of freedom in Valencia’s District of Light, delivering Scientology services from introductory levels to the State of Clear. From that foundation, the Mission extends its humanitarian impact with nearly 200 volunteers advancing Church-sponsored initiatives—United for Human Rights, The Way to Happiness and Drug-Free World—to residents and tourists alike. All as their Volunteer Minister disaster response proved decisive during Spain’s deadliest floods of the century, leading Valencia’s Civil Guard to hail the Mission for strengthening the city’s social foundation.
- Finally, an international showcase of ribbon-cutting ceremonies marked an unprecedented year of worldwide Mission growth. From the City Center of Plzeň, Czech Republic’s Gateway to Europe; to Budapest, Hungary, the Jewel of the Danube; and Shizuoka, Japan, beneath the sacred silhouette of Mount Fuji, new Ideal Missions arose to uplift communities. In California, three more cut ribbons: in Montrose, just north of Los Angeles, nestled beneath the San Gabriel Mountains; in San Jose, surrounded by the Santa Cruz Mountains; and in Riverpark, near the state capitol in Sacramento. While just last month, Lakeway, Texas, hosted the final Ideal Mission opening to cap an outstanding 12 months.
The evening’s celebration soared on with the superlative results from Ideal Organizations helmed by executive teams just graduated from Golden Age of Administration training—immediately demonstrating explosive advances. Mr. Miscavige led the audience on a global tour, beginning in the US with stops at Churches in New York; Washington, DC; and Twin Cities—then to Europe for Milan and Stuttgart, and in the Far East from Tokyo and Kaohsiung, culminating in the newest Ideal Org in Eastern Cape in South Africa. Perfectly primed with the most important training in Scientology history, this new breed of executive has fueled double-digit growth in Churches around the world—propelling individuals toward total spiritual freedom.
“There is one last story still waiting to rise,” Mr. Miscavige continued, before the Shrine erupted in a crescendo of celebration as he unveiled the forthcoming Ideal Org in Puerto Rico. Salsa music next lifted the night, as a cinematic preview of the dazzling new building in the heart of San Juan sparked a wave of Puerto Rican flags across the auditorium. The historic ribbon-cutting, heralding the first Ideal Org for the Caribbean, is set to take place in the coming weeks.
The celebration swelled once again, with anticipation filling the air as over 240 Scientologists were honored as Power Field Staff Members (FSMs) for having helped at least 100 individuals onto and up the Bridge to Total Freedom in 2025. Even more remarkable, an astonishing 12 Scientologists were awarded as Elite FSMs, having helped 1,000 or more individuals up the Bridge in just the past year.
The final dramatic revelation came as Mr. Miscavige announced the newest broadcast message for the curious—an anthem for the indomitable human spirit and the soul of humanity. Set to premiere during Super Bowl LX and the World Cup in 2026, the message will reach more people in more nations than ever before.
With that look toward tomorrow, the evening drew to its close. And just as “Auld Lang Syne” marks the promise of a new year, it is a time-honored Scientology tradition that Mr. Miscavige sets the course for limitless horizons that lie ahead.
“And so, as we stand at the threshold of a new year, you have just seen what happens when LRH Technology meets the real world,” Mr. Miscavige said. “But the truth is, everything you saw tonight now turns to you.”
“Because if every Scientologist here tonight moves forward with the certainty of LRH, if every Scientologist here tonight takes the next step and helps another take theirs, then there is no distance we cannot close, no barrier we cannot break and no future beyond our reach.”
UN chief condemns Israeli amendments targeting UNRWA operations
The amendments, adopted on December 29, to The law must stop UNRWA Operations “seek to further hamper the ability of UNRWA to function and carry out the activities entrusted to it,” said a statement published by the spokesperson for the Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
“The law and its amendments are inconsistent with the status and international legal framework applicable to UNRWA and must be immediately repealed,” the text adds.
Stressing that UNRWA is an integral part of the United Nations, the Secretary-General recalled Israel’s obligations under the United Nations Charter and the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations.
“The Convention remains applicable to UNRWA, its property and assets, as well as its officials and other personnel. Property used by UNRWA is inviolable,” the statement said.
The UN chief noted that the advisory opinion issued on October 22, 2025 by the International Court of Justice concluded that Israel is required to ensure full respect for the privileges and immunities accorded to the United Nations, including UNRWA and its personnel, in and in relation to the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Reiterating his strong support for the agency, he said UNRWA plays an indispensable role in serving the Palestinian people – in Gaza and elsewhere in the region.
He added that UNRWA’s continued operations in Gaza contribute to the effective implementation of Security Council resolution 2803 (2025) and the Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict on the Ground.
Originally published at Almouwatin.com
